Genetics
by TheEnigmaticSoul
Summary: The price of power is high, and nobody knows that more than five mutants who survived Team Rocket's selfish desire of creating powerful Pokémon. Fused with other creatures, these mutants have powers far beyond ordinary Pokémon. Giovanni's experiments were stopped by Mewtwo's escape ten years ago, but when he restarts his tests, the five mutants will do anything to stop him. *HIATUS
1. Prologue

Prologue:

Giovanni smirked. In front of him were rows and rows of Pokémon, strange Pokémon with abnormal features. Next to Giovanni stood a blonde-haired scientist with a lab coat and a blonde mustache.

"You've succeeded beyond my wildest dreams, Russell." Giovanni said, walking down the rows and surveying the Pokémon, who were in large glass cages.

"Most of them aren't…well…functional. Most rejected the DNA…they destroy themselves." Russell admitted quietly. Giovanni fixed him with a fierce look.

"What do you mean? Are there _any_ that I can use?" Giovanni exclaimed furiously, wheeling on the scientist, who cringed.

"Y-Yes…six are stable. Here, they're in their own special room." Russell said hurriedly, leading his boss to a door at the end of the rows and typing in a code on a keypad to unlock it. Inside were five cages, each held a different Pokémon. One featured a red Luxray with his tail on fire, one a Lucario with apparent robot parts, one a Charmeleon with a blue mask not unlike a Monferno's, one featured a Dewott with wings, and the last was the most contorted of all: a Kadabra with a Scyther arm, horns on the back of his head, and a pair of green insect wings protruding from his back.

"They're…magnificent." Giovanni said, running his hand along the glass of the Kadabra's cage. "What did you do to them?"

"The Charmeleon is the most stable. We took DNA from a Monferno to give him the fighting type. He's faster and more agile than any Chameleon could hope to be, and much stronger than any Charizard ever can be. However, due to his cross with a fighting type, he can never evolve.

"This Luxray we crossed with a Pyroar. He's mostly stable, but he sometimes loses control of his fire abilities.

"This Lucario is my pride and joy. His right arm, both of his legs, one ear and one eye are all bionic. His legs are equipped with the same stuff that allows an Abra to levitate, so he can fly and hover. He is incredibly strong and fast. His eye can see through walls and zoom in on objects if he so desires. His ear can hear ten times better than a normal Lucario's. One unfortunate side effect is that with all the tampering we did to implant his bionics, he's mute.

"This Dewott we mixed with a Staraptor to give her wings. She's part flying type now.

"This Kadabra…well…this is the most twisted experiment we've done thus far." Giovanni's face twisted into a cruel grin,

"Well? What can it do?"

"He has a Scyther arm, as you can see. He can fly and still retains most of his psychic abilities, and he's also now part bug. His mind, however, is a bit…twisted. He's prone to violent mood swings."

"These are five. Is the last one…" Giovanni trailed off. Russell smirked and led him to yet another door in the back of a room. This security was much tighter, it involved a fingerprint and retina scan as well as a password. Russell pushed open the door.

Inside was a white cat-like Pokémon with a purple tail. He was in a test tube filled with orange liquid, and wires were connected all over his body. Scientists were everywhere in the room, monitoring the Pokémon via several high-tech machines.

"Mewtwo." Russell whispered in reverence. The scientist grimaced. "He came with a price, but…his vitals are much more stable than our other tries…and he isn't… _deformed."_ Russell gestured to a smaller cage in the corner of the room that contained what appeared to be a pinkish purple blob.

"We call this one Ditto, after its ability to change its form into any Pokémon it sees. Has trouble with the face, though. The small blob turned around to face the scientist. Suddenly it began to change, growing taller and more humanoid until it was an exact copy of Giovanni…except for its simple two-dots-and-a-line face.

"Hmm. Might be useful." Giovanni grunted. Russell sighed,

"Good…we have dozen of them…and they keep randomly splitting in two to create more of themselves. Anyway, meet Mewtwo."

Giovanni turned his attention back to the feline humanoid.

"How powerful is it?" He asked the scientist. Russell just smirked.

"More powerful than any Pokémon alive, when it can control its powers." Giovanni smiled, then chucked.

"Perfect. No one alive can stop me now." He said. Russell smiled back at him. "Well, Russell. I take my leave. Congratulations; you've outdone yourself." Giovanni held out a hand, and Russell took it. Giovanni turned and walked out the door, Russell heaved a sigh of relief and stared at Mewtwo.

"You've pleased him. Thank you." Russell touched the capsule.

Suddenly an alarm filled the room. Scientists scrambled around, checking the machines in a panic.

"What's happening? What's wrong!?" Russell shouted, running to a machine and checking Mewtwo's monitor.

"He's _waking."_ One of the scientists screamed.

"That's impossible! The serum should incapacitate him!" Russell yelled back.

"He's become too powerful!" Another scientist said before bolting out the door. Mewtwo awoke and broke from his tube in a blast of energy. Many more scientists followed. A containment machine went towards Mewtwo, wrapping him with wires and powerful mechanical arms. Russell sighed, the Pokémon was subdued.

He stood up cautiously. Blue light streamed through the gaps in the machine, and the containment machine broke apart, revealing Mewtwo. His eyes were solid blue; glowing with energy.

Russell scurried backwards hitting a wall and sinking down, cringing with fear.

"We dreamed of creating the most powerful Pokémon…" Russell said. The Mewtwo prepared to fire, blue energy gathering in its palm. "…and we succeeded." The Mewtwo fired, and Russell's world went black.

* * *

The Mewtwo huffed at the broken body of the scientist.

"Good riddance." He sniffed. He blew open the door and walked through. He spotted five genetic mutations, Pokémon like _him,_ trapped in cages.

"Poor creatures! Those humans…they did this. I'll kill them all! And I'll put these poor, pitiful Pokémon out of their misery." He raised his hand.

"Wait!" The Charmeleon mutt shouted. The Mewtwo halted, staring at the Pokémon in confusion.

"Are you sentient?" He asked.

"Yes!" The Dewott mutt said. The Mewtwo paused.

"We want to live. We're the only sentient beings left in this place…just…let us out…please?" The Charmeleon begged. The Mewtwo lowered his hand and nodded.

"Very well. Get in the corners of your cages." He said. With five well-aimed blasts, he put hole through the thick plexiglass. The five Pokémon escaped.

"Thanks!" The Charmeleon smirked as he fled. The Mewtwo nodded.

He gave them ample time to escape, then looked down at his hands. Blue energy filled him and a blue light filled his eyes.

"Time for this human rubble to _burn!"_ He released his energy.


	2. Chapter 1: Regroup

**Thanks to all who fav'ed, followed, and reviewed!**

* * *

 **Chapter One: Regroup**

A Charmeleon attached itself to a van. Inside the van was his target and the subject of his stalking for the past decade: Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket.

He held onto the top, digging in his claws to the smooth metal surface. The wind rushed past him, its invisible claws trying to pry the Charmeleon off, but he held on. He was stronger than usual, the result of a genetic mutation performed on him by Giovanni. The only outward evidence of this was on his face and is arm. One his face was a blue mask not unlike a Monferno's, on his arm was branded 'Ex. 005-22'. He called himself simply '005'.

Ever since he had escaped from the lab, 005 had followed Giovanni. He wanted to make sure that Giovanni never performed the dreaded experiments again. However…just last month…Giovanni had flown off his radar for a week.

Now, 005 wouldn't let him out of his sight.

The van pulled onto another dirt road. In the distance, a great metal warehouse appeared. The double doors on the warehouse opened, allowing the van to enter. As the van passed under the door, the Charmeleon leaped off of the van's hood and onto one of the warehouse's walls. Using his claws, he scaled the wall and held fast to the ceiling. 005 twisted his head to look down. He expected Giovanni to exit, but the boss never did. Instead, the floor that the van was on began to sink down.

Muttering a curse, 005 let go of the ceiling, twisted in the air, and landed on the warehouse floor, kicking up dust. The Charmeleon leaped into the hole created by the sinking floor and rolled under the van. After a few seconds, the sinking floor came to a halt. 005 heard the van door open. He saw a black, polished shoe hit the ground, followed by another.

 _Giovanni._ He thought with bated breath. Another pair of dirtier shoes joined Giovanni's. The two pairs of shoes walked away. 005 couldn't see a way to follow them without getting caught, but he did hear snippets of their conversation.

"…some are successful…others fail…" The scientist said. The voice got further away, and it was harder for 005 to hear them.

"…good…success…better than last time…genetics...work?" was Giovanni's faint reply.

005's eyes widened. His worst nightmare was coming true. Giovanni was revamping his experiments. Creating more mutilated monsters, like 005 himself.

The Charmeleon rolled out from under the van, scaled the wall back up the warehouse, and ran outside. He only knew of four Pokémon that could help him stop Giovanni, although he only knew where one was.

He knew his first move.

* * *

As far as 005 could tell, the warehouse was outside of Viridian City, off of Route 22. It only took him a few hours to travel to Viridian Forest, where his first target was.

005 stalked through the undergrowth. He saw normal Pokémon, Caterpie, Butterfree, Beedrill, and even a few Scyther. He still didn't see who he was looking for though.

Out of nowhere 005 felt a hand close around the back of his neck and shove him into a tree. He smirked. He had found who he was looking for, 064, the Kadabra-Scyther mix.

"064. Still terrorizing Viridian Forest, I see." The Charmeleon smirked.

"005. What the hell are you doin' here? You son of a—"

"I need your help. Put me down." 005 interrupted the Kadabra's curse.

"Why the hell should I?" 064 growled. 005 pushed back, giving himself some room, then kicked off the tree, flipped over the Kadabra, and landed, spinning to face him. The Kadabra brandished his right arm, his Scyther one, an angry glare on his face. Branded on his non-bladed arm, like 005's, were the numbers 064-98.

"I'm a psychic. You're fighting type is vulnerable to me!" 064 hissed, launching a stream of blue energy at 005 via the star on his forehead. The Charmeleon lunged out of the way and breathed a small stream of fire at the Kadabra, just enough to singe him a little. 064 leaped in pain.

"And my fire type beats your bug type. Ironic, isn't it? Without our screwed-up genetics we're normal against each other. With them…we both hurt each other. It's good to see ya." 005 smiled. The Kadabra still looked angry.

"Ugh. It's been, what, three years since we last saw each other? Why the hell do you need me _now?"_ 064 scowled.

"Giovanni is doing more experiments. He's _back."_ 005 said seriously, his smiled fading. The Kadabra's scowl faded, and his normal and mutated arm hung limply at his sides.

"Wh-what? He's…creating m-more?" 064 wheeled around, leaning against a tree. Suddenly he drew back from it and slashed at the tree with his wicked Scyther blade. He yelled and slashed again, and again, and again, until the tree fell to the forest floor with a thunderous crash. His limbs dropped to his sides again, his blade chipped in several places.

"He's creating more _monsters?_ More _mutations?_ More _abominations?_ Like you? Like me!" 064 turned back to 005, seething with rage. "I will ram my Arceus damn blade through his Arceus-forsaken heart, mark my words. I'm _in._ "

"Hey…I don't consider myself a mutt…anymore at least." 005 mumbled these last words under his breath. Then he put an arrogant smirk on his face. "I'm glad you're in. We just have one problem; where are the others?"

The Kadabra gave the Charmeleon a wicked grin.

"I know where 405 is."

* * *

"He's in a _city?_ What on Kanto was he _thinking?"_ 005 hissed, in the bushes outside of Celadon City with the Kadabra beside him. The psychic bug shrugged, his insect wings fluttering slightly as if to copy the motion.

"He painted hisself blue. Yep, got some dye and dyed his red fur blue. I don't know how the hell he hides his flaming tail, though. Luxray generally don't have those."

The Charmeleon cursed.

"I'll get him…I stand out less than you do, wingy. Stay here." 064 growled at the mention of the hated nickname, but 005 ignored him and dashed into the city on all fours, trying to keep his blue mask hidden by looking down and away from any human he spotted. He ran behind a giant building and paused. He looked up and brandished his claws, plunging them into the cement walls.

He climbed slowly but steadily; his added strength made it easy to break through the concrete. After a few minutes he made it to the top, and he pulled up sharply and jumped onto the roof.

He was met by a dozen trainers.

The Charmeleon cursed as all of the trainers looked at him at once. Instantaneously, they all whipped out Pokéballs and threw them onto the ground.

"Holy Magikarp…what's with his face?" One trainer said,

"Maybe he's a shiny…"

"I want him!"

"I saw him first!"

All the Pokémon lunged. 005 batted countless Pokémon away and breathed fire at others, but they all kept coming at him. It was hard to get a handle on what he was facing exactly, but he saw a Raticate, a Butterfree, an Ivysaur, and a Squirtle. There were many more though.

Despite his added attributes, a dozen well-trained Pokémon were hard to fend off. Out of the sea of Pokémon, a red and white ball flew at 005's face, transforming him to data and absorbing him inside.

 _A normal Pokéball? You can't be serious! This is insulting!_ 005 thought, breaking out of it with ease.

Then a blue and red Great Ball him in the face. The Charmeleon broke out of it again. 005 breathed a stream of smoke out, hoping to throw off the trainer's aim. However, he wasn't immortal, and 005 knew it was only a matter of time before he was captured.

Then, out of nowhere, hope appeared. Beside him stood a normal-looking Luxray…normal-looking if his tail hadn't been on fire, that is.

"Why…why are you here?" The Luxray asked, shifting nervously. A Raticate jumped out of the smoke, making the Luxray jump three feet in the air. 005 rolled his eyes and batted the rat away.

"I need your help!" 005 said. The smoke was clearing, and the trainers were again brandishing their Pokéballs. The Luxray faced them with surprise and lowered his flaming tail, hiding it behind his back. He whimpered.

"They're trying to capture me! Help!" He yowled. The trainers stopped. They all looked at the Luxray in astonishment.

"Great Arceus above, 405! Now they want to capture you _more!"_ 005 growled at the Luxray quietly.

"They…they talk!" One of the trainers gaped. 005 looked over his shoulder, wondering if he could survive the fall if he jumped off the building.

"Now I want him _more!"_ Another trainer yelled. 005 looked at 405 in exasperation.

"Not today, suckers." The Charmeleon smirked, grabbing the Luxray by his flaming tail and jumping off of the building.

005 dug his claws into the side of the building, creating deep dents in the cement. 405 shrieked his head off, demanding to be put down.

005's descent was slowed drastically, until he came to a halt about ten feet off the ground. He dropped the Luxray, who landed on his head with a thump.

"Ow! 005! Why are you here!? Why do you need me?" 405 whimpered, rubbing his head with a light blue paw.

"Never _mind_ that! 064 is waiting. Let's get the heck outta here!" 005 cried, hauling 405 over his shoulder and running away from the clamor of trainers and towards the undergrowth, where the Kadabra was waiting with a scowl on his face.

"Oh screw you!" He growled, capturing the Charmeleon and Luxray in his psychic field. The psychic leaped into the air, his insect wings buzzing, and in a matter of minutes he was in the sky, dragging 005 and 405 with him.

"Can't…fly for long." The Kadabra said, gritting his teeth in strain.

After a few more minutes, 064 collapsed through the cloud cover. He barely kept afloat before his energy field faltered along with his wings, sending the unorthodox trio crashing through a grove of berry trees.

"Ugh…" 005 groaned, his head implanted in a poor Pecha tree. He stood up, rubbing the bump on his skull and moaning.

"Owowowow…" 405 groaned. The Luxray stood up and shook himself, dirt flying off of his fur. He pouted.

"005! 064! What the heck are you guys doing here?"

"Arceus above, ya wimp. We need your help, Arceus damn you." 064 stood up, the upper half of his left wing bent at an awkward angle. Without flinching, he reached behind him and snapped it back into place.

"Yeah. What wingy said." 005 affirmed, brushing dust off of his scales and ignoring the Kadabra's glare at his unwanted nickname. The Charmeleon picked an Oran Berry out of the dust and tossed it into his mouth.

"W-Why do you want my help?" 405 stammered.

"Giovanni's creating new mutations. Let's get outta here before someone sees us." 005 said quickly, making his way through the berry trees. The Luxray ran up to walk beside him.

" _What!?_ That's awful! But…are you suggesting that we…stop him? We could get hurt…or worse…" 405 murmured.

"Arceus! You haven't changed a bit have you? Son of a—"

"Yes, that's precisely what I'm suggesting." 005 said, glaring at the Kadabra.

"You don't need me! You other four are much stronger…and braver…than _I_ am." The Luxray stopped.

"Hey…we need _everyone_ to beat Giovanni. You know that! All for one. I'm not leaving _anyone_ behind. You can do great things if you apply yourself. _Anyone_ can do great things if they apply themselves. Chin up. Let's keep going." 005 said. 405 looked brighter, but 064 sniffed and glared at the both of them.

"Arceus. If we're done with the sappy inspirational mumbo jumbo, do ya know where any other mutts are?" The psychic said.

405 appeared thoughtful for a moment.

"Yes…I believe so. I saw 448 a few years ago…he said he was going to Sinnoh…where his kind are native." 405 murmured. Kadabra's eyes lit up.

"Arceus _dammit!_ That stupid jerk! We gotta go hundreds of _miles_ Northeast of here just to get that mute, robotic, stupid son of a—"

"064! Calm yourself!" 005 snapped. "If that's what it takes, that's what we'll _do._ For heaven's sakes, please _control_ your _temper!_ " The Charmeleon rolled his eyes. The Luxray cringed.

" _Why should I?_ We're a bunch of Arceus-forsaken freaks with _numbers_ for _names!_ We're _abominations! Monsters!_ I have _no reason_ to 'calm down'. _Son of a—"_

 _"THAT'S WHY WE HAVE TO STOP HIM!"_ 005 screamed back, spitting in the Kadabra's face. "We _cannot_ let other Pokémon be outcasts, mutations, freaks of nature like we are! Don't you get it? We can't. We know what it's like…living on the fringe of society because we can never be normal. Let's give other Pokémon the chance to _be_ normal. I know you have some kind of heart beneath your selfish, pitiful, pissed off shell!" 005 panted.

The two glared at each other with mutual animosity. The Luxray cowered, quivering in fear. The Kadabra's glare faded, his mouth open slightly. His face contorted…but this time in sorrow.

"Yes. You're right. Now let's go get that son of a…let's go get that Lucario." The Kadabra sighed, walking ahead of 005 and 405.

* * *

The journey took several days of whining, bickering, and lots and lots of walking, as not only was the Kadabra not strong enough to carry both 005 and 405 for long, his wing was also damaged from their last fall. Eventually, however, they stumbled into the vicinities of the Sinnoh region. As a matter of fact, they barely prevented themselves from stumbling right into a town. It was a tiny town, and from what 005 saw it didn't even have a Pokémart, or a Pokémon Center.

005 looked back at his comrades. The Luxray's blue dye was fading, revealing his red fur in patches across his underbelly. On his left forearm his brand was becoming clear; 405-02.

The psychic's wings had healed, along with, unfortunately, his temper.

"Well Arceus dammit, where the heck is this stupid bionic anyway?" The psychic cried. 005 rolled his eyes, turning to the Luxray.

"Well?" The Charmeleon said expectantly.

"Um…uh…I believe he said he was going to a place called…Iron Island?" The Luxray bit his lip.

"Well. Do either of you know where that is?" 005 looked at his companions expectantly.

"What the hell do I look like? An Arceus-damned map? I ain't been here before, ever!" 064 grumbled. 005 rolled his eyes at his companion. He turned to the Luxray, who was looking fearfully at the Kadabra.

"I…I don't know…" The Luxray muttered, looking down. 005 rolled his eyes again.

"Well then. If you keep your tail down…you're the most normal. We'll find a town with a Pokémon Center; those always have maps. Then all you have to do is go in there and steal it, mkay?" 005 smiled, trying to comfort the timid lion. He shook his head and stepped back.

"All…by m-myself? I can't." Another eye-roll. It was a very eye-rolly day for the Charmeleon.

"Fine. We'll have to break in then. Let's make our way around this town…there's bound to be another town with a Pokémon Center _somewhere."_

Indeed, after only half-an-hour of trudging through the undergrowth, the trio found another town. They sat around until nightfall, and at about midnight, they made their way into the town.

005 stalked through the streets, approaching the Pokémon center cautiously. Seeing no one, he cloaked himself in flames and charged the doors, busting them down with ease. The alarms blared. At the back of the front room of the center and to the right of the counter hung the map, coated with glass. 005 sighed, exasperated, then walked up to the map, busted the glass, and pulled it out. 064 and 405 were waiting for him in the doorway.

"Come on." The Charmeleon said. The two walked into the bushes, completely unconcerned with the crime they had just committed.

* * *

Officer Jenny surveyed the scene in bafflement. The doors were dented and covered with scorch marks, apparently hit by a Flame Charge or a Flame Wheel. Pokémon tracks littered the area, Luxray, Charmeleon, and either Kadabra or Scyther the most recent.

The center itself, was in perfect order. Except for one thing. The map. The map was the only things missing from the center.

The only thought on Officer Jenny's mind was: Who _the_ hell _breaks into a Pokémon Center to steal a_ map?

* * *

"So. Crap. We have two fire types. How do we get to an _island?_ " 005 sighed as he surveyed the map.

"Pfft easy. We hijack a boat." 064 smirked. 405 looked at the Kadabra in horror, but a smile spread across 005's lizard-like face.

 _Of course._

* * *

It took them all night and another day to reach the port town of Canalave City, which was the closest to Iron Island. It was night by then, however, so it was easy for them to sneak down to the harbor and hop into a boat.

"Now how do we do this?" 005 said, looking down at all the human tech of the boat in confusion. The Kadabra shut his eyes. In a matter of seconds, the boat was up and running. 005 looked back at the Kadabra, nodding his thanks.

"Maximum speed." 005 smirked, grabbing the steering wheel. He knew that it would steer, at least. The trip out of the dock was bumpy and involved denting and/or possibly destroying several other boats, but once they got out of the dock it was smooth sailing. It took them a little less than half an hour to reach, and crash into, Iron Island.

"ARCEUS DAMMIT!" 064 yelled, flying off of the smoking wreckage of the boat with his now fully healed insect wings.

"Ouch! My paw!" 405 whined, hobbling off on three legs.

"Ugh." 005 grunted, leaping off the boat with a front-flip. "Let's go find the robot."

The other two nodded, and the three made their way up a steep rocky path. The path led to a cave, and as far as 005 could tell there was nothing else around. So, with a shrug, he entered the cave, his comrades right behind him.

"448?" 005 yelled, "Hey 448? It's 005, 064, and 405! We need your help! Please come out!" 005 waited expectantly. Clanging noises echoed in the cave. 405 made a small whimper. More and more clanging noise, growing louder and louder, until in front of them stood a Lucario.

One his left forearm, he too had a brand. 448-34. His legs and his right arm were made of metal. His right eye was solid red, his left ear made of metal. The Lucario gave them a puzzling glance.

"We need your help. Giovanni is making more mutations. Are you in?" 005 said quickly. Privately he thought it was really nice that 448 couldn't talk; it meant less bickering among the team. 'Team'.

The Lucario shrugged then nodded.

"Do you know where 502 is?"

The Lucario nodded.

"064, do you have the map?" The Charmeleon turned to the Kadabra, who handed him a roll of paper. The Charmeleon unrolled the map and set it on the ground, holding his tail in front of it for light. The Lucario gave him an exasperated look.

"Oh…right. Your bionic eye can see in the dark. Sorry." 005 pulled his tail away from the paper. The Lucario scrutinized the map, then pointed to a spot on the map. 005 brought his tail back around.

"You. Have. To. Be. _Kidding me._ She's all the way in Unova!? And I was pissed at robot here! Arceus dammit! Son of a—"

" _064!"_ 005 snapped, "Okay…we can do this…we can…crap." 005 rubbed his hand on his blue mask.

The three day journey from Kanto to Sinnoh had been…well…like being dragged through the distortion world. Unova was not only an _island,_ it was also, at very least, two weeks away, not to mention that they had to go across _ocean._

The Lucario pointed at himself, then he pointed at the Kadabra, then he made flying motions with his arms.

"You two fly us?" 005 asked. The Lucario nodded. "Can you even do that?" The Lucario pointed at himself proudly, then shrugged and waved towards 064. The Kadabra scowled.

"You son of a—"

"Can you _do it?"_ 005 interrupted. The Kadabra huffed, glaring at everyone in the cave and causing the Luxray to cringe. Then he reluctantly nodded.

"I can only carry the Charmeleon, though. His weakness to psychic type makes him easier to carry." The Kadabra smirked at the Charmeleon, who fake smiled back.

448 had already began walking out of the cave. He turned back and beckoned the others to follow. After a brief glare at one another, 005 and 064 followed.

448 slung 405 over his shoulders and activated his bionic legs, which allowed him to float with no apparent effort. 064 picked up 005 in his psychic field then began to buzz his insect wings. Then the two took off, lugging their passengers with them.

* * *

What had taken the Charmeleon, Kadabra, and Luxray three days took the rest of the night for the two flying Pokémon and their passengers. However, they soon grew tired, and so 005 made the executive decision to rest outside Kanto for the night, a decision that the Lucario and the Kadabra readily agreed to. After a day of rest, the group of four took off again, flying over Kanto and out to the large Island of Hoenn, where they rested on an uninhabited Island for the day. They took off again, this time flying to Unova. They landed on a stretch of untamed land.

"Where…exactly…did 502 say she's be?" 005 asked, unrolling the map once more. The Lucario pointed to a spot not too far from where the Charmeleon approximated they were. After an hour more of rest, the unorthodox group took off again.

They arrived just outside a town called Undella, along a long stretch of ocean. 005 surveyed the area, frowning. He had no idea where to start looked for a Pokémon who was the master of both the aky and the water. Lucky he didn't have to, for he was suddenly tackled from behind.

Grimacing he stood up and turned around to see a winged Dewott smiling at him. She folded her broad, dark grey Staraptor wings behind he back and smiled.

"The whole gang! Good to see ya 005, 064, 405, and 448! Long time no see! So…what's the celebration for, eh? The tenth anniversary of our escape?" The Dewott bounced happily.

"Actually…we're here because we need your help." 005 stepped forward.

"Giovanni is performing more experiments. We're gonna stop him." 005 smirked. 502 shrugged.

"Okay, I'm in. Let's go."

005 prevented his jaw from dropping. He had forgotten how open and…nice…the Dewott was. He looked at his assembled team and shrugged.

"Let's go stop a bad guy." The Charmeleon smirked. He had assembled his team…no matter how un-teamlike they were.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Yes, I know that there is a lot of numbers! Later they'll have easier names, but for now, a list:**

 **005- Charmeleon**

 **064- Kadabra**

 **405- Luxray**

 **448- Lucario**

 **502- Dewott**

 **This is going to be a fun fanfic! It's super fun to write! This chapter was a bit more comedic than I had planned, so later on don't expect as much comedy.  
**


	3. Chapter 2: Failure

**Chapter Two: Failure**

Joan muttered curses angrily. She did not _want_ to be soaking wet at night in the middle of nowhere, but sacrifice was required when you were a daring Pokémon trainer on a journey. She readjusted her backpack and kept walking.

The rain had started right after she had succeeded in making a nice, warm fire too…. She sighed in exasperation, continuing her way along the dark forest path. Hopefully she could find some kind of civilization along the path, preferably a nice warm house with kind people who would warm her up. The trainer sighed again. All she _wanted_ to do was kick down a tree and strangle somebody, or complain aloud to a random person.

 _No. I'm a Pokémon trainer! We have to be tough!_ She thought, hardening herself. She continued forth, ignoring her discomfort. After going a few more feet however, she stopped and face-palmed.

 _Of course, moron. You have a frickin' Skiddo!_ And _a Ponyta! No need to walk!_

Drawing a Pokéball from her belt, she tossed it forward. From it emerged a small goat with a leafy scruff. It emitted a low bleat.

"Okay, Kiddo!" Joan said happily, mounting the animal. It was only about half her height, but it was sturdy and strong, and could easily carry Joan on his back. The girl brushed her brown hair out of her face. She dug her heels into his sides, and the pair were off.

The goat carried her much faster than she could have walked, and soon she caught a glimpse of civilization. She pulled on her Pokémon's horns, urging him to stop.

It wasn't exactly the civilization she had in mind. It was a large metal warehouse, with no signs of life coming from inside.

 _Still._ She thought, _It'll keep me out of the wind and rain, I guess._ Joan hopped off of her Skiddo and withdrew it into his Pokéball.

She took one step towards the warehouse. That was when the doors exploded.

The force of his knocked Joan onto her butt. She instinctively covered her face, protecting it from the heat of the explosion. She turned her head back from the warehouse. Standing in the doors were five of the strangest Pokémon Joan had ever seen.

There was a Kadabra with what appeared to be a Scyther claw, a Charmeleon with a Monferno mask, a Lucario with metal parts, a Dewott with wings, and a Luxray with a flaming tail.

Joan's jaw dropped. She rubbed her eyes, squeezing them shut. _They aren't real! I'm dreaming!_ She thought hysterically. When she opened her eyes though, they were still there.

"Well _Arceus dammit!"_ The Kadabra yelled. Joan's jaw dropped, and if possible, she was even more shocked. It _talked._

The Charmeleon growled, seething with rage. "They _knew_ we were coming! How…of course…" The Charmeleon slapped himself. "Security cameras. I _didn't_ check for security cameras."

"You _moron!"_ The Kadabra hissed, punching the Charmeleon in the face. The Charmeleon punched him back in the gut. Suddenly the two were shoving at each other, exchanging glares. The Luxray jumped and stepped back, the Lucario rolled his unmatched eyes and crossed his arms.

" _Whoah hey! Guys!"_ The Dewott shouted in a clearly feminine voice, she put one paw on each of their faces and shoved them apart. Then she looked up.

The remaining four followed her gaze, which led right back to Joan.

Joan gulped. Then they all looked at the Charmeleon, who stepped forward calmly. He raised his fist. Joan only had time to flinch before everything went black.

* * *

She awoke to the sound of discontented grumblings. Her vision was blurry, and she didn't remember where she was. Then she remembered last night's exploding warehouse. She also recalled the awesome looking Pokémon she had spotted.

She opened her eyes fully. She was blinded by light. She shut them again for a moment, then slowly opened them, and found herself tied to some kind of a metal chair, unable to move her hands. She appeared to be in the corner of the same warehouse; as the doors of this warehouse were missing, scorch marks lining the walls.

Ahead of her the five Pokémon stood in a huddle.

"She's _human._ This is above her damned head. Let's just drop her in a random city with a bottle of alcohol." The Kadabra mumbled.

"064, we can't just abandon her like that! She seems like a decent, and _young_ girl. She'll never believe…" The Charmeleon was interrupted when the Dewott shoved her hand in his face.

"She's awake." The otter whispered. All five looked up at her.

"Hey…why are you so weird? Where did you come from? Can I help you with whatever you're doing?" Joan said rapidly, her heart beating fast with excitement.

These Pokémon were, in here opinion, awesome! Nothing interesting had ever really happened to her in her 14-year long life, but she had always wanted to do something awesome! Maybe this was her big chance. The five Pokémon looked at her seriously. Then they all wheeled about and got back in a huddle.

" _She can't help us!_ " The Kadabra hissed. Joan rolled her eyes. _I can hear them! I'm right here!_

 _"Listen!_ You remember what happened in Sinnoh…if she _does_ we won't have to break the law for silly things again!" The Charmeleon reasoned.

"Besides, she's already seen us…if she's on our side…what harm could it do?" The Dewott added.

The Lucario shook his head frantically and made a scowl.

"Yes, he's right. We can't trust her." The Kadabra said.

"We're two and two. What about you, 405?" The Charmeleon said. All four turned to look at the red Luxray. Joan held her breath.

"I…I…I think we can trust her." The timid Pokémon gulped.

"Ha! Majority! Three to two! We might get a new team member! Yay!" The Dewott cheered. The five wheeled to face Joan again.

Joan was relieved. Not only were these Pokémon _not_ going to kill her, they might also allow her into their ragtag group.

The Charmeleon stepped forward. Joan couldn't help but stare at his blue mask.

"I am 005. This is my team. We are genetic experiments created by Giovanni of Team Rocket. His experiments ended a decade ago, when Mewtwo destroyed his laboratory."

"Mewtwo…isn't he a myth?" Joan interrupted. The Charmeleon fixed her with a glare from underneath his mask.

"Long story short…no. As I was saying…we're genetic experiments. Part of our enhanced genetics enables us to talk, except 448 here." The Charmeleon pointed at Lucario. The Lucario's weird half-metal face was emotionless. He turned to face Joan, his eerie red eye locking with her hazel one. "His bionic implants screwed with his brain and made him mute. Anyway…a week ago, I found this warehouse. In here he was performing more experiments. So…I rounded up these four and we came here." The Charmeleon looked down, rage spreading across his face. "But, as you can see, he escaped before we got here.

"You can help us stop him. But be warned." The Charmeleon leaned in, a fierce look on his face. "If you _betray_ us…I _will_ kill you without reservation." Joan met his stare with a steely gaze. He leaned back. "You in? If not…I'm sure my Kadabra friend could remove these memories.

The Kadabra glared at 005 at the mention of 'friend', but his eyes lit up with blue energy threateningly.

Joan took a deep breath. This sounded… _exciting._ Their cause seemed just. She nodded.

"I'm in. Can you get these ropes off me?" Joan said, twisting her body in the chair to show the Charmeleon her bonds. The Charmeleon held out one claw and slipped it under the rope, snapping it with ease. Joan pulled on the ropes and freed her hands, rubbing her wrists.

The Kadabra sighed, the blue light fading from his eyes.

"Damn humans." He muttered. The Dewott walked up to Joan, happiness sparkling in her gaze. She held out a paw and helped the human up.

"Hey…so…you said Team Rocket is making genetically engineered Pokémon, right?" Joan remembered something she saw on the news recently. She reached behind her to pull her backpack off of her shoulders, only to find that it wasn't there.

"Hey! Where's my backpack?" She said, glaring at the five misfits in irritation. The Luxray ran to one corner of the warehouse and grabbed the pack in his teeth. He walked over, anxiety in his eyes. He dropped the pack at her feet. She stroked his head out of pure instinct, but withdrew it when she realized he might not appreciate it. He looked at her in surprise, then fear, and backed away quickly.

"I'm…I'm glad you're on our team." He said quietly. Joan smiled at him and picked up her backpack. She set it on the chair and dug through the contents. Finally she 'aha'ed in triumph and pulled out her blue Pokegear.

She flipped it open and turned it on and flipped to the option 'Web browser', a handy new feature. Then she looked up 'Professor Sycamore news. She found a video, pressed play, and showed it to the five Pokémon, who gathered around the device curiously.

"In recent news." A reporter's smooth voice came from the Pokegear, "Pokémon Mega Evolution and genetic change scientist, Professor Sycamore, was kidnapped early this morning, Police. They have revealed no further details." The video stopped. The five genetic mutts looked at the device in amazement.

The Charmeleon seized the device and tapped the screen. Joan shrieked and grabbed it away from him, holding it close to her chest.

"It only works for _human_ fingers, alright?" She stroked her precious Pokegear. The Charmeleon—005 he called himself—frowned.

"Alright, alright. Have there been any other kidnappings?" 005 asked.

"Um…let's see." Joan said, tuning her Pokegear into the local news radio station. She listened along with the other Pokémon. They listened for about ten minutes to meaningless news. Then another bulletin came on.

"…in light of the recent kidnapping…Scientist Russell Brooke was almost kidnapped only an hour ago. The scientist was rumored to have affiliations with Team Rocket a decade ago, but has become one of the head developers in Pokémon genetics research."

All five Pokémon gasped.

"That damn son of a…" Kadabra started, but the Dewott interrupted him,

"He _died._ Mewtwo killed him…how…"

"I don't know." The Charmeleon grunted. Joan looked at this trade-off in confusion.

"Who's Russell Brooke?" She asked.

"He…did this to me…" The Luxray whimpered.

"Yes. He did, 405. That's why we're going to find him." The Charmeleon said, a dark look on his face.

"That Areus-damned moron…I'll _kill_ him! I'll _roast his innards!_ I'll do what that stupid cat couldn't!" The psychic fox growled, his eyes glowing with blue energy.

He raised his Scyther arm threateningly.

"Woah buddy!" the Dewott cried, leaping between Joan and the Kadabra. The Kadabra hissed, the extra horns on the side of his head trembling. He looked at the Dewott fiercely, as if he was going the strike, but at the last minute directed the blast towards the warehouse's ceiling.

Joan panted heavily. For a second, she had been actually terrified.

"Who's…this 'Russell' guy?" She asked the Dewott. She lowered her arms and turned to face the human, wings dragging along the ground.

"He… _made…_ us." She murmured. Joan's eyes widened. She understood the psychic's reaction now. Any _monster_ who did these cruel experiments on Pokémon…well…anyone like that should be stopped. She clenched her fist.

"Let's find him." She said. "He might still have contacts in Team Rocket. We use him for _info,_ though…we don't kill him."

The Charmeleon nodded. "She's right. We can use him to find Giovanni. Alright, 064?" 005 turned to the Kadabra with an expectant look. The psychic still had an intense glare on his face, but he nodded.

"Oh…by the way…I guess we should formally introduce each other. I'm Joan." Joan said, offering the Charmeleon, the apparent leader, a small smile. He returned it.

"I'm 005. Anger management here is 064, the Dewott's 502, wimpy over there is 405, and robot is 448." The Charmeleon sniffed, crossing his arms. Joan got a clear look at a brand on his arm, which contained the numbers 005-22. For some reason this saddened Joan more than anything she had heard thus far in this very bizarre and exciting day.

"You guys…you guys don't even have real names? Didn't you give yourselves names?" Joan stammered. They all shook their heads.

"No one saw it fit to give us names, we didn't bother to give ourselves names. So we go by numbers." 005 shrugged. Joan smiled.

"I can change that. 005, you can be Charm. Kadabra or 064 or whatever…" She surveyed the angry psychic. "Aha! You can be Wingy!"

The newly named Charm took one look at the Kadabra's expression of utter shock and burst into laughter. The Kadabra smacked Charm with the flat side of his blade. The Charmeleon glared at Wingy.

"You, Dewott, can be Dew. Luxray, you can be Ember, and Lucario…you can be…Steel." Joan finished, proud of her creativity.

"Um…I'm still calling myself 005." The Charmeleon smirked, "But…I'll be happy to call this jerk 'Wingy'. Not that I didn't call him that already." This comment earned another glared from Wingy. Dew smiled,

"I like it. Guys…you can call me Dew." She smiled. The Luxray shrugged,

"I like Ember." He flicked his flaming tail, "Suits me, I guess."

The Lucario shrugged, indicating he didn't care.

"Perfect! One retains his number, the rest can have cool nicknames!" Joan said, smiling broadly. The Kadabra huffed,

"You call me 'Wingy' once more, and I'll ram my blade right between your shoulders, innocent human or not." Joan glared back at the Kadabra.

"Wingy." She smirked. The psychic gave her a furious glare, but didn't carry out his threat.

"Well then… _that's_ over with. Anyway…search up Russell Brooke on your device. Let's see where he lives." 005 said.

"'Kay, Charm." Joan said, ignoring the Charmeleon's exasperated look. She flipped open her Pokegear and typed in the name into her web browser. "He has his own website! That's handy…and it has everything right here in his bio. Address, Pokegear number…even his email! He lives in Vermilion city."

"Okay. We can visit him…tomorrow." 005 said, "I don't think a single one of us actually slept last night…we're too exhausted to carry out this…hrm…'interview' today. Let's go downstairs and see if we can't find some decent beds, eh?" The Charmeleon smirked.

"Um…downstairs?" Joan said, looking around in confusion, "It seems to be one story…"

"One thing you should learn if you work with us…" 005 grunted, feeling around on the floor and then waving Steel over to him, "…is that you should never judge anything by how it appears."

The Charmeleon punched the ground, Steel used his bionic arm to punch it as well. In a matter of seconds, they had cleared a large hole in the floor. 005 jumped down, followed by Steel, then Wingy, then Dew, and finally an anxious Ember. Joan followed, without really looking down. She landed pretty hard, but still on her feet. The group was waiting for her, and when she landed they proceeded down a dimly lit hallway to a door locked with a keypad. 005 grunted and punched it down.

Inside was a laboratory. Joan saw a switch to her left. She flipped it. The room lit up, and inside were dozens of table littered with scraps of paper and broken bottle and such. Some mysterious liquids were on the floor, some shining in unnatural colors. Lining the walls were thick glass cages. The Luxray, who was standing right next to Joan, trembled when he glanced at these. He approached one cautiously.

"Just like ours." He pressed his head against the glass. The other four Pokémon looked at him with pained expressions.

"They have no further use for this place. We can use it, though. This will be our new headquarters." 005 said. For once, the Kadabra didn't argue. Steel and Dew nodded their approval.

005 continued to the back of the room, where two more doors were located. The Charmeleon broke one down. Inside was a bare room with several wires scattered across the floor; apparently the place where lots of tech was stored. The group exited and continued their exploration of the underground headquarters.

Eventually, they found the room where the scientists must have slept, for there were several metal bed frames with bare mattresses in one room, along with many cupboards and drawers. After some exploration, Joan succeeded in finding sheets, pillows, and blankets in several cupboards.

"Guess they didn't take these!" She said.

Joan, Dew, Wingy, and Steel all took beds, but Ember and 005 found it more prudent to curl up on the floor due to their flaming tails.

After helping the Pokémon make their beds, Joan curled up on her own and sighed. It had been a long night…and morning, and even though it was the middle of the afternoon, Joan was exhausted. She was happy to be a part of something greater than herself, and despite her misgivings about them, she already felt a sort of companionship with these strange genetic misfits.

She fell asleep quickly.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **I have several buffer chapters, so you can expect pretty frequent updates until I run out of buffer chapters.**


	4. Chapter 3: The Interview

**Chapter Three: The Interview**

005 woke up and stretched. He was a little sore from sleeping in a little ball on the floor all night, so he rolled his shoulders and bent backwards, trying to loosen his muscles. After his morning stretch, he viewed his comrades.

Both Joan and the Kadabra were snoring loudly. The Charmeleon sighed. Of course _those_ two were the snorers. 005 still wasn't positive that he made the right decision letting Joan on the team, but he did like her. She had spunk, and she was willing to help. Even if she had tried to name him 'Charm'.

Then there was the matter of Russell Brooke, the mad scientist who had created them all.

The Charmeleon looked at the brand on his left forearm. 005-22. His Pokedex number and the test subject number. It meant that twenty-one Charmeleons had died before 005 came into existence. 005 trembled at the thought. He would never admit it to Wingy, but 005 wanted to kill Russell just as much as the Kadabra did. _But_ I _have a better handle on my anger. We_ need _Russell if we truly want to make a difference._ 005 thought.

005 looked down at his hand. Even his _hand_ was mutilated, with five fingers like a Monferno's, but with gleaming white claws at the end of each. However, 005 had accepted that he was a monster a long time ago…which he suspected was more than most of the others had. Once the Charmeleon had accepted this fact, it had been easy to overcome. Now he _knew_ he could still be great, even despite his…uniqueness.

 _I guess I should wake them up._ 005 sighed. He started with 502—Dew—for he knew she would be the most forgiving. Her covers and her pillow had somehow ended up on the floor. Her feathery wings were wrapped around her body instead, and beneath them she was curled into a tight ball. 005 shook her gently.

"Dew." His hissed. She moaned. "Dew!" He said louder. She sat up quickly, rubbing her eyes.

"Oh…hrm…yes…I am up." She mumbled.

005 sighed and moved to the bionic Lucario. The instant he laid a hand on Steel's shoulder, he sprang up and pinned 005 to the wall with his bionic arm.

"Woah there, buddy…heh, just waking you up." 005 grunted. The Lucario gave him an apologetic glance., and set him down on the bed gently.

The Charmeleon moved to the Luxray, who simply opened his eyes as if he was already awake.

He then went to the human. She shook her. She didn't move. The Charmeleon sighed and shook her harder, saying,

"Joan! Wake up!" She still didn't shift. The Charmeleon jumped on top of her, shaking her violently. Finally her eyes snapped open and she jumped off, knocking 005 off of her. The Charmeleon twisted in the air to land on his feet.

"Five more minutes, Mom!" Joan groaned, lying back down and rolling over.

"Do I look like your Mom to you?" 005 growled, crossing his arms. Joan grunted in response. Finally 005 rolled his eyes and breathed a long stream of flames over her head. She squeaked and woke up, giving 005 a glare.

"Alright…now the big lug." 005 sighed, he walked towards the Kadabra, but before he could touch him a stream of high-powered water hit the psychic in his face. 005 gave Dew a sharp look. She shrugged innocently. The Kadabra stood up slowly, his wings buzzing. Then he trained his gaze on Dew. She smiled lazily back. Wingy sighed and stopped his buzzing. 005 seriously doubted anyone on the team would seriously harm Dew. She was sort of the glue that held them together.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Joan asked, running a brush through her brown hair.

"We kick that imbecile's ass if he doesn't tell us _exactly_ what we want to know." Kadabra grunted.

"That's beautiful, Wingy. No, what I meant was _how_ do we get there, _how_ do we go about even talking to him, as he's bound to have police escorts now, and when we do, _how_ do we extract info?" Joan said, putting her brush back into her bag and standing up.

"We get there by flying, 064—Wingy—can take me, Steel can take Ember, and Dew can take you." 005 grunted. The Charmeleon turned and walked out the door. Joan ran to catch up with him.

"How can _Steel_ take someone?" She asked.

"Those bionic legs don't just make him stronger. They allow him to fly, too." 005 explained quickly as he made his way through the underground facility and walking through the messy underground laboratory. The Charmeleon then walked through the hall and to the elevator entrance. The entrance was about ten feet up, too high for 005 to jump. He leaped as high as he could and dug his claws into the wall, scaling it in a few seconds. Wingy flew up next, followed by Steel with Ember in his arms, and lastly came Dew carrying Joan.

Joan leaped from the Dewott's arms and pulled a map out of her back pack. She pointed to a town to the East of Route 22, the route that they were currently outside of.

"Here's Vermilion, pretty much a straight shot to the East." Joan said. She rolled up the map and put it back in her bag.

"Good, let's go." 005 said. He felt a twinge of pain as Wingy picked him up in his psychic field, but his body soon adapted to the discomfort. Joan climbed on Dew's back, and Steel slung Ember over his shoulders. The three Pokémon rose and took off, flying out of the warehouse's missing doors and towards the east.

* * *

It took them about an hour and a half to arrive at Vermilion City, but they landed about a few minutes of a walk outside of the city. Wingy's psychic field faltered when 005 was still a few yards above the ground, and the Charmeleon landed on the dirt with a thud.

"Ha ha very funny." 005 sneered at the Kadabra, who gave him a look of faux innocence. Joan leaped off of Dew's back, and Steel lifted Ember off of his shoulders.

"Okay…so…erm…how do we go about this? We can't exactly waltz up to Russell's heavily guarded door and say,, 'Hey, remember us? The Pokémon who have a very good reason to kill you? Let us in and help us!', can we?" 005 grumbled. Joan looked down in concentration.

"I…I have an idea. But you guys aren't gonna like it." She said after a brief pause.

"It can't be any worse that frickin' getting our asses shoved in jail, can it?" Wingy said, crossing his arm and blade.

"Um…it might actually be. In order to get in there…you guys should let me…let me capture you." Joan said, looking at the five mutants with an even glare. They all stared at her in shock (or in the Kadabra's case, anger).

005 spoke first, "Okay. As long as you shove those Pokéballs into a dark corner after this and never use them again. Do you swear this?"

"If we ever have a need of smuggling you guys somewhere, I _will_ have to use 'em again. But I _do_ swear to only use them in dire circumstances with your permission. That will have to be good enough." Joan stared at the Charmeleon, daring him to challenge her. 005 realized that it was the only way to get to Russell, and it might be useful in the future too. Besides, Joan didn't look like she would back down easily.

"Whatever must be done." He said finally, "What about the rest of you?"

"I agree! It's safe in those!" Ember cried.

"…I agree as well." Dew murmured. Steel had an intense scowl on his face, but as he saw his teammates agreeing to the proposition, the scowl faded. The Lucario nodded.

The four Pokémon and Joan all turned to Wingy. The Kadabra huffed. Finally after and intense staring contest between him and his teammates, the Kadabra nodded.

"Fine. But don't try anything cute, _human_ , or I'll stab you through your shoulder blades!"

Joan retrieved five Pokéballs from her bag and handed one to each Pokémon, and set one in front of Ember since he was a quadruped and didn't have opposable thumbs.

"Just hold down the button and it'll suck you inside. Another perk from these is that no one will be able to capture you." Joan winced. 005 looked down at the little red and white orb in his hand. He looked up and saw Ember become absorbed into the ball, which shook slightly before capturing him. Joan picked up the Pokéball and put it in her backpack. Steel and Dew followed, until it was just 005 and the Kadabra left staring at each other. For once there was no enmity.

The two gave each other a slight nod of respect, and together pressed the buttons on their respective balls and were absorbed into them.

005 had to force himself not to thrash. His every survival instinct kicked in, and it was all he could do to stay still. Finally the darkness of the Pokéball faded into a much more pleasant scene. 005 was standing on a mountain that was surrounded by trees. His ideal environment.

He looked up. The sky was the outside of the Pokéball, literally. He found himself in Joan's bag; he could tell by the assortment of random item and other Pokéballs, and when he looked straight up he could see light streaming from a small opening in the top of the backpack.

 _This is strange._ 005 thought. Though he could see outside of the Pokéball by looking up, and outside it was dark since he was in Joan's bag, the environment portion of the Pokéball was perfectly bright.

It seemed like the ceiling would get distracting though. He wished it would go away. He blinked once, and when he looked up the ceiling was a normal blue.

 _It must be connected to my brain!_ 005 thought. _So trippy!_

He imagined a Rattata running towards him, and blinked again. Sure enough, a purple rat was running towards him at full speed. 005 batted it away and imagined it disappeared. Blink. The rat was gone.

"Huh. Humans are _so_ weird." 005 shook his head.

Suddenly everything disappeared in a flash of white light, and 005 found himself standing in front of a decrepit old man with no hair, a scarred head and face, and an eye patch over one eye. He was standing in what appeared to be the living room of a simple house.

Joan was standing behind him, and she took out the other four Pokéballs and threw them out, revealing Dew, Wingy, Steel, and Ember.

"005…502…064…448…and 405! You _captured them!?"_ The old man cried. 005 recognized the voice, and apparently so did Wingy, who growled and dashed forward, shoving the old man into a wall by his throat.

"You _ruined_ us! You _created_ us!" The Kadabra hissed, "Give me _one_ good reason why I shouldn't take this Arceus-damned blade you gave me and _shove_ it through your one good eye!"

"Wingy!" Joan shouted.

" _Stop calling me that!"_ The Kadabra hissed, never taking his eyes off of the scientist.

The old man gulped. He gulped again. Then a tear leaked through his good eye. Soon he was full on sobbing. Wingy's glare faded. He removed his hand and the old man dropped to the floor.

"I'm…I'm…so sorry! I barely lived that day…now I'm like 448…" The old man cried. He pulled up his left pant leg, revealing a metal leg. He pulled up his right sleeve to reveal a metal arm. "I…I realized that day that I tampered with thing that I never should have…not a day has gone by that I don't regret what I've done…I wish I could take it back, honestly. If there's anything I can do…name it."

The team of six looked at the scientist in surprise. 005 looked down. This man had _ruined_ his life! Yet…005 believed that he was truly sorry for what he did. The Charmeleon stepped forward. He was about to do the hardest thing he has ever done, utter three words that could change him forever, but he knew it was the right thing to do.

"I forgive you." The Charmeleon looked down and away and stepped back a few feet. The scientist, along with everyone else, looked at 005 in astonishment. Dew stepped forward too.

"I forgive you as well." She murmured.

Steel stepped forward and helped the scientist to his feet.

"I…I…I forgive you too." Ember mumbled without looking at the old man.

"I won't kill you, but _never_ expect me to forgive you." The Kadabra grunted. 005 wanted to glare at the Kadabra, but he realized that he was justified in his anger. After all…Kadabra's genetics were the most screwed up of all…he was mixed with a type he was _weak_ to, for goodness sakes, and according to the brand on his arm…ninety-seven had perished before him.

"We're here for information. On Team Rocket." Joan said, approaching the scientist. 005 stepped in front of her.

"I… _we_ have reason to believed that Giovanni is continuing his experiments on Pokémon. We think he's creating more mutts like us. So…do you know anything? Do you know what he's planning?" 005 asked. Russell's mouth opened, and shock spread across his face.

"…yes. Giovanni asked me about two weeks ago if I had any of my old research papers on my genetic mutation studies. I told him I didn't. Then he asked me if I remembered anything about it. I…I laughed at him, and told him that of course I knew exactly what I had done. Then I told him that those days were over, and that I would never do anything like that again.

"You must understand…Giovanni and I were friends. He fled after Team Rocket was disbanded by that boy Red after the Mewtwo incident. He told me he regretted what he had done…and I…I believed him. I never expected he would use…he would use…the other information I told him that day…" Russell paused, trembling.

"What…what did you t-tell him?" Ember spoke.

"He…he asked me…he asked me if…if it was possible to recreate Mewtwo. A better one…one that wasn't untamable. I thought he was speaking purely in hypothetical…the police had frozen all of his assets. I told him…I told him that yes…it was possible. If Mewtwo's brain was somehow 'shrunk' per se, if you coded his DNA to be less intelligent than his former self, then you would get a watered down version of the Mewtwo that destroyed the lab. An obedient version incapable of thinking for himself." Russell went quiet. 005's blood ran cold. The room became dead silent, you could have heard a feather drop.

"So…you're saying…" Joan stammered,

"That Giovanni…" The scientist screwed his eye shut, "…Giovanni is probably creating another Mewtwo."

"You yellow-bellied _fool!"_ Kadabra hissed quietly. "You led Giovanni straight to the answers he was looking for! Now that damned jackass…he'll…he'll be able to take over Kanto! Not just Kanto, every region!"

The Kadabra growled and with one fluid motion sliced a nearby couch in two with his blade. 005 moved towards him and grabbed the top part of his blade.

" _Let me go! I'll destroy this place! I'll destroy that frickin' scientist son of a—"_

 _"Stop!"_ 005 growled. His tail flame grew twice it size and became tinted blue. "I don't want to have to hurt you!"

"HA! You hurt _me?_ You _fighting_ type bastard!" The Kadabra's eyes glowed blue and he wheeled to face 005, yanking his blade from the Charmeleon's grip. 005 got into a fighting stance, preparing himself to stop the Kadabra; at any cost.

" _Bastard!_ I'll _shave your skin!_ You stupid Arceus-damned lizard, and that Arceus-damned scientist next! Then I'll find Giovanni and _chop his limbs off!_ Then I'll cut out his black heart!" The Kadabra's eyes glowed brighter. His wings buzzed, and he appeared ready to strike…then a red beam engulfed him and he disappeared.

Joan held a Pokéball at arm's length. She put it back into her backpack.

"He's always pissed, but I've never seen him _that_ pissed." She said. 005 sighed, painful memories running through his mind.

"I have." The Charmeleon said darkly. Ember, Dew, and Steel cringed, clearly thinking of the same painful event. Joan looked at them all in surprise.

"Listen…I'll help you. If you ever need me…for _anything…_ you can come to me. Just tell the guards outside to get me, and I'll let you in. Whatever you need." Russell said, a determined gleam in his eye, "I want to take Giovanni down as much as all of you." 005 nodded his thanks,

"Before we go…I need to ask you one more thing." The Charmeleon asked. Joan looked at him in confusion.

"Do you know of any scientist that might be willing to go back to Giovanni? Maybe we can interview them and get some answers."

"As a matter of fact…yes…a scientist named Grady…Grady Hornne. He split from the lab right as Mewtwo's brain waves spiked, the coward. He was always much more devoted to Team Rocket than I was…I was more in it for the ability to study the science that fascinated me. I believe he was living in Johto…I think in Blackthorn City." Russell said. 005 nodded.

"Okay, Joan, we can leave now." The girl nodded and retrieved Dew, Ember, and Steel into their Pokéballs. Then she pulled out 005's and recalled him into the strange landscape.

005 used the journey back to do some thinking. The news that Giovanni was creating a new Mewtwo was horrifying…but 005 had the strange feeling that a piece was missing from the puzzle. If Giovanni was anything, he was cunning, and he wouldn't just take the same approach twice in a row. No…Giovanni had to be planning something bigger.

The Charmeleon shuddered. What was worse than a totally obedient Mewtwo?

Light filled the environment and 005 found himself in the bushed surrounded by his team, minus one Kadabra. The sun was setting, casting a beautiful array of oranges, reds, and yellows into the sky.

"Let Wingy out." 005 said.

"Hey, we can't trust—" Dew started,

"We can't make it home without him." 005 interrupted, "Besides, it'll only make him more angry if we don't."

Joan sighed, then nodded, and pulled out the Kadabra's Pokéball. With a burst of light, the psychic was revealed. He looked less angry now.

"That was _not_ cool, human!" He hissed, turning to Joan. Joan sneered at him. He rolled his eyes at her.

"Let's just go." 005 sighed, relieved that the Kadabra didn't blow up in all of their faces. The psychic picked 005 up in his psychic field, and the group of six headed back to their makeshift base, aware of their next step.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Not my best work, hopefully my next chapter will be better.**

 **Thanks to all for favorited, followed, and/or reviewed!**


	5. Chapter 4: Pause

**Chapter Four: Pause**

Joan woke to the entire team staring at her. She sat up quickly, stretching and yawning.

"Hey guys." She said sluggishly, reaching into her backpack and pulling out her brush. She ran it through her hair, pulling out tangles from bedhead. Steel, Wingy, and 005 gave her a synchronized look of exasperation. Dew smiled slightly, and Ember's expression remained neutral. She couldn't figure out Ember…he was so timid all the time, but he could be so powerful! Two of the strongest elements, fire and electricity, dangerously gathered in a Pokémon who could see through walls! Joan made a mental note to spend some time with him later.

In the meantime, she shoved down her embarrassment and continued to brush her hair, ignoring the dirty looks. When she was sure every tangle was gone, she put her brush away and hopped out of bed putting on her red and white running shoes.

"What day is it?" She asked in confusion.

"Saturday, I believe." Dew answered. Joan's jaw dropped. It was already _Saturday?_ That meant…

"Oh crap. Guys…can we take a break from…ya know…running around and saving the world today?" She smiled awkwardly. The Pokémon looked at her in bewilderment.

"Why?" 005 grunted.

"Because…I promised someone I'd meet them in Cerulean City this Saturday, with my Cerulean Gym badge, and battle them. Unfortunately, I haven't got that badge…and I'm not in Cerulean. I've helped you guys so much…it would mean a lot if you would do this for me. Please?" Joan begged. It was harder than she thought, being a part of this ragtag band. She was giving up her world…indeed perhaps her life, to help these Pokémon bring some good into the world.

"What!? You want us to drop everything and help you with your Arceus damned problems! That's insane! Son of a—"

"Sure." 005 interrupted. Kadabra looked at him in horror.

" _What!?"_ He shrieked. The Lucario gave 005 a disapproving look.

"I agree. Joan here has sacrificed everything to help us. Without her, we never would have made it to talk to Russell. We're in her debt, this is the least we can do for ya, sweetie." Dew smiled and winked.

"Uh…yes. She's super nice and stuff, and we should help her." Ember spoke up, a nervous quiver in his voice.

"Three to two, _Wingy,_ in my favor." Joan smirked. The Kadabra curled his lip. The Lucario just shrugged, he apparently wasn't too against it from the start.

"We'd better leave now if I'm to get my badge before I meet him at noon." Joan cheered, jumping off of her bed and running out of the bedroom.

The Kadabra sighed, "005…every second we delay—"

"Yes,"

"But Giovanni is—"

"I know."

"And she's just a—"

"I _know._ But we owe her." 005 finished, "Humor me." He gave the Kadabra a pleading look. The Pokémon sighed.

"Alright, Arceus damn you. And her, for that matter!"

* * *

Joan cheered as Dew dropped her off just outside of Cerulean City.

"Where will you guys be?" She asked.

"We'll remain just outside the town's borders. Wingy can contact you via telepathy if we need you." 005 smiled, "Go get 'em."

" _Don't_ call me _Wingy!"_ The Kadabra frowned. Joan was about to leave, but she stopped in confusion.

"Wait…can he even _do_ telepathy? So far from what I've seen…his power extends to only the control of psychic energy. Wait…that means…when you first met me and threatened to _erase_ my _memories?"_ Joan gave them a skeptical glance. Wingy and 005 gave each other a look that said, 'we're busted'.

"Heh, I can levitate things, control the energy, and use telepathy. Unfortunately…my Arceus damned buggy side prevents me from performing more powerful forms of psychic energy, such as teleportation, and deep probing of minds." The Kadabra said.

"So…what you're saying is?"

"That was a total bluff." 005 finished for the Kadabra. Joan gave them both a sarcastic sneer. They looked at each other and started laughing. Steel smiled, and Dew joined in the fun. Ember winced.

 _Wow…they pretend to hate each other so much…but I think they really are friends beneath that. Or at least comrades dragged together by their unfortunate circumstances._ Joan realized. She waved at them all and walked away from them and into the town.

In a matter of minutes, she reached it. It was a nice town, very clean with grey brick pavement. Houses, apartment complexes, and shops lined the streets. After about ten minutes of walking, Joan arrived at the beating heart of the city, a large park with scattered benches and trees, with a large, ornate fountain in the center of it all. Many trainers and just ordinary citizens were in the park, some battling, some sitting on the benches, and some just playing with their Pokémon.

To the left of the park was the Pokémon Center, this was made obvious by its bright orange roof. Joan walked towards it, guilt assailing her as she realized she hadn't talked to her Pokémon in days. Ever since she had been swept up in this whole Team Rocket debacle, she had ignored her responsibilities as a trainer.

She truly loved her Pokémon, but she had abandon them to their Pokéballs.

The Pokémon Center's doors buzzed open as soon as she got close to them. The spacious Pokémon center had a large lobby with a desk in the very back. A red-headed nurse stood behind the desk next to a large machine, which was used for quick healing. Behind her was a door that led to a more extensive care unit for emergencies, and to the right of the desk was a door for visitors of such people or Pokémon.

At the right wall of the center was an escalator leading to rooms available for trainers. To the left was an escalator going down to more rooms.

Joan ignored these and went straight to Nurse Joy, pulling the Pokéballs of her three Pokémon off of her belt and handing them to her.

"Extensive heal or quick heal?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Quick." Joan replied. The nurse nodded and placed the Pokéballs on the device to her right. She flipped a few switches, and a monitor on the device showed sprites of Joan's Pokémon, below their sprites was their respective health bars. Joan watched as all their health bars moved to full. Nurse Joy smiled and handed Joan's Pokéballs back.

Joan smiled and exited the Center, making her way to a deserted bench in the park. She threw out the three Pokéballs, which opened to reveal a Ponyta, a Skiddo, and a Wartortle.

The three Pokémon looked at her in surprise. The Wartortle looked hurt, and the Ponyta looked bitter, but the Skiddo bounded up to her and shoved his horns into her stomach, bleating happily. Joan stroked the Skiddo's leafy ruff affectionately, looking apologetically at her other two Pokémon. For no reason at all, she found herself crying.

Emotions roiled inside her, guilt at leaving her Pokémon alone in their balls when she knew none of them like them, shame for not thinking of them until this morning, and happiness a seeing their simple and—no offense to the mutations— _normal_ faces again.

"I'm so sorry, guys. I won't do it again," She said and wiped her eyes. The Ponyta, which she named Pony, whinnied and trotted up to her happily. The Wartortle, Squirt, also walked up to her. She enveloped them all in a big hug.

"Okay guys. Today's the day. We're gonna face Misty!" She pumped her fist in the air. Her Pokémon cheered in their own way, Pony by whinnying loudly, Kiddo by bleating loudly, and Squirt by making its weird grunting noises.

Joan made her way to the gym, her Pokémon right behind her. The door buzzed open when she got near them, for they were automatic like those of the Pokémon Center's. Inside was a large pool surrounded by bleachers. On the far end of the pool stood a woman in her thirties, at the near end a boy that looked twelve. In between them stood an umpire in a black and white striped shirt.

Joan made her way to the bleachers, shushing her Pokémon. From what it looked like, the battle was almost over. The boy was commanding a Weepinbell that was covered in scrapes and looked exhausted. So exhausted, it couldn't even use its natural energy to remain afloat in the air, and was collapsed on one of the large, white disks floating in the pool for use by Pokémon that couldn't swim well.

Suddenly a Starmie burst from the water, tackled the Weepinbell into the air, and disappeared back beneath the otherwise still pool. The Weepinbell fell onto one of the disks and remained still.

"Planter!" The boy shrieked, hanging his head and pulling out a Pokéball. He withdrew his Pokémon and shot a look at Misty.

"Both the challenger's Pokémon have been defeated. Misty wins!" The umpire said. The scattered audience cheered.

"I'll be back to beat you!" He shouted, shaking his fist. Misty shrugged and withdrew her Starmie.

"We'll see." She laughed.

The boy stormed out. The few spectators other than Joan got up to leave, but Joan jumped down from the bleachers with her Pokémon, stood opposite to Misty and yelled,

"Misty, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

The water-type trainer turned towards Joan.

"Oh, this is interesting! Two battles in a row!" She said, spinning Starmie's Pokéball on her index finger. "Yeah, sure kid. Let me go to the healing machine in the back, and then we'll fight.

The spectators went back to their spots on the bleachers. Joan prepared herself.

"Sorry Pony, you're fire isn't very effective here. Squirt and Kiddo, get ready." Joan whispered. The umpire walked out the doors.

"I'll announce the match." He said to nobody in particular. In a minute he returned, and about ten more people followed him and took a place among the bleachers. Misty returned, standing opposite of Joan.

"This match will be between the challenger and Misty. Each trainer will use two Pokémon with no switching. If each trainer will release their Pokémon, the match will start."

"Go, Squirt!" Joan cried. The Wartortle made his grunt-like roar and leaped onto one of the floating disks with surprising agility.

"Go, Horsea!" Misty cried, releasing a small blue seahorse. It landed in the water and made a piercing shriek.

"Begin!" The umpire yelled.

"Horsea, dive and use Smokescreen!"

"Squirt, follow it and use tackle!" Joan cried. The blue turtle dived underwater after the Horsea. The water turned black, the result of Horsea's smokescreen. Suddenly it flew out of the water with a shriek. Squirt followed it out, landing on one of the disks.

"Horsea, Twister!" Misty cried with a smirk. The Horsea's eye snapped open, and it twisted itself around to dive in the water. A great whirlpool appeared. Then it became wind, a great vortex of water and wind that sucked up Squirt and lashed him around.

The twister faded and the Wartortle landed heavily on a disk.

"Squirt! Get up and find the Horsea! Use Bite on it!" The Wartortle got to his feet with visible effort and dived back into the water. Joan watched the underwater battle ensue.

The Horsea was amazingly fast underwater. It twisted, turned, and dived as Squirt raced after it, snapping whenever he got the chance. Neither Joan nor Misty made a move.

At one point the Horsea got behind Squirt and slammed into him. Instantly, the turtle wheeled and latched onto the small seahorse.

The turtle then swam to the surface at full speed, and with an amazingly high jump, did a front flip and slammed the Horsea onto one of the disks.

It didn't move.

"Aw…well done." Misty said, withdrawing her Pokémon, "But you haven't met Starmie. Go!" The red-head threw out another Pokéball, revealing a purple star with five arms only semi-attached, these wheeled about at a high speed as it landed on one of the plastic disks.

"Alright, Squirt. Let's do some damage to that thing!" Joan cried. The Wartortle growled in response. "Go forward with Bite!" Joan yelled.

The Wartortle lunged.

"Use confusion!" Misty shouted. The gem on the Starmie's front glowed, and a beam of blue energy shot from it and surrounded Squirt, forcing him to come to a stop and float in mid-air. He was whipped up and around onto another disk. _Finally._ Joan smirked.

"Wartortle, Water Pulse!" Joan said triumphantly. The turtle rose, his eyes glowing a solid deep blue with energy. He opened his mouth, and from it burst a giant ring of dark blue energy that slammed into the Starmie with enough force to knock it into the water.

"Hmm…you let Torrent activate…nice." Misty said. "Finish it, Starmie!" Misty shouted.

Fromm the water the star-shaped Pokémon burst up, spinning rapidly, and knocked into the Wartortle, who landed in the water unconscious. Joan whipped out his Pokéball and withdrew Squirt.

She turned to Kiddo.

"Go get 'em!" She smiled. The goat bleated and leaped onto the nearest disk.

"Use Razor Leaf!" Joan yelled.

"Stop them with Confusion!"

"Again!"

The first leaves were stopped cold, but the second ones slipped by the psychic Pokémon's power and sliced the Starmie in multiple places.

"Alright Starmie, dive and use Rapid Spin. Get it into the water!" Misty yelled. Joan gasped.

"Kiddo jump around the disks! Don't let it knock you off!" The Starmie dove underwater. It was fast, but Skiddos were excellent jumpers. Indeed, the little goat smiled as it jumped from disk to disk. The Starmie was only one second behind as it knocked into each disk, but it couldn't catch the goat.

"Okay, jump out of the water and use Confusion!" Misty ordered. The Starmie leaped onto a disk and surrounded the goat in its psychic field. The Starmie lifted Kiddo up, then slammed him back down. When the goat stood up, it looked dazed.

"Use Vine Whip!" Joan commanded. The goat unleashed its vines, but somehow it tripped and got all tangled up in its own vines. _He's confused!_ Joan realized.

"Aha! Starmie, hit it with Rapid Spin!" Misty smiled. _Wait…she doesn't realize…that'll cut the vines!_

The Starmie hit Kiddo spinning and knocked him into the water.

"Kiddo, get on a disk and use Synthesis!" The goat, now free of vines and confusion, climbed up onto a disk and shut it's eyes. It had plenty of water and the glass roof of the gym allowed lots of sunshine to stream down. The leaves on the Skiddo's back glowed, and when he opened his eyes, he looked invigorated.

"Yes! Alright Kiddo, get to the other end of the pool!" Joan ordered.

"Starmie, dive!"

In a few hops, the Skiddo was at the other end of the pool; right in front of Joan.

"Charge a Solarbeam!" The Skiddo's back glowed, absorbing energy from the sunlight.

"Starmie, leap up and use Confusion!" Misty yelled. She looked a little nervous.

The Starmie shot out of the water, its gem glowing.

"Release!" Light surrounded the goat. He opened his mouth, and from it came a stream of yellow energy that hit the Starmie right as it popped out of the water. The blast was so powerful that it knocked the star to the opposite wall, where the star collapsed in the ground in a heap. Joan held her breath, but the Starmie didn't move.

"Misty's Pokémon are unable to battle. Challenger wins!" The umpire said. Joan cheered, and all her Pokémon made their various sounds of excitement. Kiddo ran over to her and she rubbed his scruff affectionately. Pony nudged her from behind, and Joan turned and scratched her under her neck.

"Congratulations. You won the Cascade Badge." Misty smiled, walking up to her and handing her a water drop shaped blue piece of metal.

Joan accepted it with reverence. _My second badge…I did it._

"Th-Thank you!" Joan stammered.

"Huh. Beaten twice in two days. That hasn't happened to me for a long time, heh." Misty smirked. "Good luck on your journey!"

 _Twice in two days? That must mean…Myles was here!_ Joan smiled.

She grabbed her Pokegear from her backpack. It was 11:53 a.m., just enough time to rush to the Pokémon Center. She withdrew Kiddo and Pony and ran across the street to the center.

* * *

Joan looked around the park anxiously. Myles was her childhood friend, the guy she'd began their journey with. They decided to go their separate ways, though, so that they could face each other every once in a while and challenge each other to get stronger.

A week ago, she'd met with him in Pewter City after beating Brock. They'd agreed to meet up at around noon today and battle each other to see who was stronger. Joan had gone back to Route 22 because there were strong wild Pokémon there to train on and capture. In fact, Pony was the newest member on her team. Joan had caught her on Route 22 the day she met 005 and the others.

"Boo." Someone said behind her. She turned to see a scruffy, lean teenager with messy brown hair and blue eyes. It was Myles, wearing the grey Great Ball shirt he started his journey with.

"Myles! Please don't tell me you haven't changed yet." Jon groaned sarcastically. Myles looked down.

"Of course I have, I'm not _unsanitary,_ I just…oh. You were kidding. So funny." Myles sneered. Joan hugged him quickly.

"It's nice to see you." She smiled.

"What have you been doing the past week?" Myles asked. Joan held back a wince. She couldn't tell Myles the truth, so she shrugged and said,

"Training, mostly. Caught a new Pokémon, too. Traveled here." It wasn't a full blown lie, she had been training, and Pony _was_ new, and she had traveled here. She didn't say that she has gotten here on a Dewott with wings, but still. "What about you?"

"Same. I also have a new Pokémon." Myles smiled, pulling a Pokéball from his belt and tossing it in the air casually.

"Are we gonna stand here all day, or are we gonna fight?" Joan challenged. Myles shrugged and walked backwards until he was several yards from Joan.

"Okay, let's use our new Pokémon first." Myles tossed the Pokéball. From it burst a Pidgeotto. Joan took out Pony's Pokéball and threw it as well, and the Ponyta burst out with a whinny.

"Let's start." Joan said.

"Ladies first." Myles fired back.

"Ponyta, Ember!"

"Peter, dodge and use Quick Attack!" The Ponyta breathed a small burst of flames at the bird, but he went up and over them and flew forward with amazing speed, knocking Pony in the side.

"Alright Pony, stand still!" Joan ordered. The Ponyta looked at Joan disapprovingly, but Joan glared right back.

"Okay, fine, Peter use Quick Attack again!"

"Pony! Use Stomp!" Joan yelled, and right as the Pigeotto approached the Ponyta wheeled about and lashed out with her hooves.

She hit the Pidgeotto once in the side, and the bird went veering off to the side and crashed into the ground. It was a hard hit.

"Come on, Peter! Get up and use Gust!"

"Pony, Tackle it!" The horse ran forward, but she wasn't able to touch the Pidgeotto before he flew back into the air. The bird turned in the air and began flapping his wings furiously, building a wind strong enough to knock Pony over.

"Finish it with Quick Attack!" Myles smirked.

"Pony! Ember!" Joan called desperately, the Pidgeotto was feet away and closing in quickly, but then Pony lifted her head and spat a few bursts of fire at the Pidgeotto. When the fire faded, the Pidgeotto fell towards the ground, scorched. Myles pulled out a Pokéball and withdrew his Pokémon, looking displeased.

"That Ponyta is strong!" He commented.

"Thanks Myles." Joan smirked. She decided to withdraw her Pokémon, as Pony was clearly exhausted. She pulled out Kiddo's Pokéball next. She knew that both of Myles' other Pokémon were strong against the goat, but she had to use all three Pokémon. Myles threw his Pokémon out at the same time that Joan did.

From Myles' Pokéball burst his former Bulbasaur—now an Ivysaur—Sara.

"Alright Sara, use Razor Leaf!"

"Kiddo, dodge and use Tackle!"

The goat sprang away from the sharp leaves and hit the Ivysaur in the side.

"Quick, Sara, Vine Whip!" The Ivysaur whipped out her vines and wrapped them around the Skiddo's middle. The grass type lifted the Skiddo and knocked him into the ground.

"Kiddo, get up and use Razor Leaf!" Joan ordered. If the Skiddo couldn't recover, it would be over. The Skiddo _did_ recover though, and he launched a flurry of leaves before the Ivysaur could react.

"Sara, Sleep Powder!"

"Kiddo, get outta the way!" Joan yelled, but it was too late. The Ivysaur slammed into the Skiddo and knocked him down, then she sprayed a light green powder from the flower on her back all over the goat.

Kiddo inhaled deeply, sneezed, and then instantly fell asleep. Joan sighed and pulled out his Pokéball, withdrawing the sleeping goat. She pulled out Pony's and sent her out.

The Ponyta was still a little beat up, but the Ivysaur had been knocked around a bit by Kiddo, so hopefully she could take out Sara easily. The horse got into a battle-ready stance.

"Pony, use Flame Charge!" Joan ordered. The Ponyta cloaked itself in flames and dashed at the Ivysaur.

"Sara, Take Down!" Myles ordered, and the Ivysaur ran at the Ponyta, glowing white with energy. The two Pokémon collided, kicking up tons of dust in their wake.

Just like that, the battle was over. The Ivysaur lay in front of Myles, scorched, but Pony lay in front of Joan, clearly too exhausted to rise. The two trainers withdrew their Pokémon.

"One to one now. Let's finally see who's the strongest!" Myles said, pulling out his last Pokéball.

Joan knew exactly who it was, just like he knew who her last Pokémon was. She tossed out Squirt. Myles chucked his Pokéball, and from it burst a Beedrill, her wings buzzing loudly. Myles wasted no time and shouted,

"Trixie, Pin Missile!"

"Dodge it, Squirt!" Joan ordered. Trixie aimed the stinger on her abdomen at Squirt and fired light green needles of energy at the Wartortle. Squirt dived out of the way and landed on all fours, then jumped back and forth to dodge the needles. Then he ran up to the Beedrill, seeing an opening, and jumped at it, hitting it with a tackle.

"Alright, Trixie. Fury Attack!" Myles ordered. The Beedrill flew at the Wartortle threateningly. He jabbed with his pincers. Squirt managed to dodge the first two, but the third hit him in his tough stomach, and the fourth knocked him back several feet.

The Wartortle used one hand to help himself to his feet.

"Water Gun!" Joan shouted. The Wartortle breathe a jet of water at Trixie. The water hit her squarely in the face. The Beedrill wavered and dropped a few feet, but she soon recovered.

"Twinneedle!" Myles said, and the Beedrill aimed its needle arms at Wartortle and fired two purple needles.

Squirt was pinned, no matter what way he jumped he would get pinned, so he just stood there as the poison needles struck him in the stomach and sent him flying. He landed hard.

"Squirt, get up! Use Bite!" The Wartortle forced himself to his feet and ran at the Beedrill. Trixie tried to dodge, but Squirt managed to latch on to her legs. She shrieked in pain.

"Poison Jab!" Myles ordered. Joan gasped. The Beedrill reared back its arm, purple energy swirling around his pincer. He jabbed it into Squirt's head then his back.

The Wartortle let go and fell to the ground, completely unconscious.

"I…lost." Joan sighed, frustration feeling her. She reluctantly withdrew her Pokémon. Myles withdrew his Beedrill and smirked. He walked over to her, a slight swagger in his stride.

"I'm the strongest there is!" Myles laughed, walking in circles around Joan. Joan folded her arms and scowled.

"I'll call up the champion. We'll see who the strongest is _then."_ She grumbled.

"Hey! There's no way I could beat…hah." Myles rolled his eyes. Joan smiled at him.

"I need to heal my Pokémon." She said. Myles nodded, and together they went to the Pokémon Center.

After they were done healing their Pokémon, Joan said,

"Okay, Myles. Good to see you. I'll call you later." She didn't want to keep her mutated buddies waiting. Myles grabbed her arm. His blue eyes locked with her hazel ones, his eyebrows drew together. Joan tried to keep her expression neutral, but she knew that look of his.

"What's wrong?" Myles asked. "You haven't been yourself today. Usually you're much...perkier." Joan opened her mouth, about to tell him that she was fine, just tired.

She couldn't. He had been her best friend since she had been five, he knew her well enough to tell when she was lying. Instead she yanked her arm away and looked down.

"I have to do this on my own." She muttered. She stalked away, ignoring his hurt look.

Joan felt horrible. Myles was like a brother to her, and she had just shoved his years of loyalty in his face. She was doing important things now, though. Things bigger than her and her life. With determination filling her heart, she walked back to the genetically altered Pokémon with swift strides.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Kind of an awkward pause, I know, but I felt like Joan's background needed more definition.**

 **Unfortunately, I only have one more chapter prepared, so pretty soon updates are going to slow down. I don't really do much in the summer, however, so updates should still be weekly or bi-weekly unless I get in a writer's block.**

 **As always, thanks for reading, and special thanks to all who fav, follow, and review!**


	6. Chapter 5: Following the Lead

**Chapter Five: Following the Lead**

005 sighed impatiently. After an entire day of dillydallying for Joan's sake, today they were _finally_ going to Johto to find this guy Grady. The Charmeleon had wanted to get an early start, but the human had decided to hop into a shower facility she had found somewhere in the base.

So now the group of five genetic mutants were sitting outside of a door, listening to water running.

The Kadabra especially looked about ready to explode. 005 swore his face was turning red. The Lucario looked irked as well, but both Ember and Dew were impassive.

005 was surprised at how quickly he had gotten used to his team's new nicknames. 005 himself had no desire for a nickname, his name _was_ 005, it was what he had called himself ever since he escaped, and it was he who began the tradition of everyone called each other by their numbers. Apparently everyone except him and perhaps the Kadabra disliked it, but it suited the Charmeleon just fine.

Finally, after about twenty minutes of grumbling and scowls, Joan emerged, her brown hair soaking wet. She was wearing a red t-shirt with a Pokéball on it and blue jeans with her signature beige backpack slung over one shoulder and three Pokéballs attached to her belt.

"Ready guys?" She asked perkily, ignoring all the dirty looks that immediately assaulted her.

* * *

When they finally made it into the air, it took them about forty five minutes to reach Blackthorn City.

They arrived at about ten o'clock, a bit later than 005 envisioned, but it still gave them plenty of time to find the guy.

Of course they didn't land in the middle of the city, but rather just outside of it, per the norm. When they landed, Joan pulled out five Pokéballs. The Kadabra growled.

"I _don't_ want to go in _that_ Arceus damned thing." Joan sneered at him,

"If you want to find this stupid guy without getting your butt thrown in a lab, too bad, Wingy." The Kadabra gave her a look that would kill a Tyranitar.

"I _told_ you, you frickin' human, to _never_ call me that!" The Kadabra took a step forward. Instantly Dew stepped between him and Joan and said,

" _Enough!_ Don't you hurt her! She's never done anything but call you by a stupid nickname. You won't hurt her, not on my watch, at least."

"Ugh, just get her to stop calling me that!" The Kadabra glared.

"What do you _want_ to be called?" Joan glared.

"Just call me Kadabra." Kadabra took a step closer to the human. Joan rolled her eyes, and 005 stepped between them.

"Fine, _wingy,_ and I think Dew is right." 005 cut in, grabbing the Kadabra's arm, "you should stop being such a bastard to our _entire team_ just because you're angry. Now we're going. Joan, withdraw us, but keep us on your belt. I wanna see what's going on."

The human nodded, and 005 felt the familiar pull of the Pokéball as it sucked him inside. This time, however, instead of going in Joan's bag, she clipped him onto her belt.

005 decided that the artificial landscape was irritating. He closed his eyes and imagined it all fading away, and he imagined himself becoming gigantic. When he opened his eyes, the Pokéball had succumbed to his wish, and he was alone in a blank Pokéball, able to see outside, although the outside world was tinted red.

Joan was only walking now. She continued walking for about five more minutes, and then a town came into view, across a long bridge. Joan crossed the bridge.

The town was full of black buildings and tall buildings with spires. It wasn't that big, it didn't even have paved roads, and it only took Joan a few minutes to reach the center of the town, where there was a large pond with a gym next to it. To Joan's left there were two more buildings, a Pokémon Center and a Pokémart.

Joan sighed and looked down at 005 through his Pokéball.

"I guess I'll ask the Pokémart clerk. They know lots of people." She said quietly, making her way through the blue building's doors, which buzzed open, being automatic. Joan walked up to the clerk's counter.

The guy looked about twenty, and he was absentmindedly cleaning a Pokéball. The shop was deserted.

"Do you know where I can find Grady Hornne?" Joan asked. The clerk put down the Pokéball and put a finger on his chin.

"Hmm…" He said dryly, "That name might ring a bell."

"Might?" Joan tilted her head. The clerk nodded.

"I might be able to tell you where to find him…for a price." 005 rolled his eyes. What a moron. Who did this guy think he was? An 80's crime show bartender?

Apparently Joan wasn't amused either. She whipped out a Pokéball and threw it on the counter, where a Wartortle appeared.

"Hold your jaws over his throat." Joan commanded. The Wartortle complied, his mouth open and hovering just over the clerk's throat. Joan leaned forward.

"I am _not_ in the mood to play games. Where's the scientist?" Joan smiled sweetly. 005 smirked.

"…don't hurt me! He works at Draco Spire, the tallest building in town! The laboratory…on the…the second floor! Call this guy off!" The clerk practically shrieked. Joan complied, withdrawing the Wartortle into its Pokéball.

"Thanks." She said, turning to exit the Pokémart. "…I hate guys like that." She whispered as she exited.

True to his word, it only took Joan minutes to get to the tallest building in town. In front there was a sign with a plaque that read 'Draco Spire'. Ironically, Draco Spire was pretty much the only taller building 005 had seen so far that _didn't_ have a spire.

Joan pushed open the doors and walked through. Inside was a lobby with chairs and coffee tables filled with magazines about pop coordinators or movie stars. A few people sat on the chairs, some flipping through the meaningless gossip contained in such magazines, but some just sat and twiddled their thumbs.

Joan approached the back counter, where a clerk sat. This particular clerk looked like she had wandered here from the 80's, with huge curly black hair and a loud blue and pink dress. She was flipping through one of the aforementioned magazines and chewing bubble gum.

 _Why is this town the 80's?_ 005 wondered, incredulous.

"Hey, where can I find Grady Hornne?" Joan asked. The clerk ignored her. "I _asked_ you a _question!"_ Joan hissed. The lady reluctantly unglued her eyes from her magazine and looked Joan over. She blew a bubble. It popped. She continued to chew. Jan continued to glare. 005 continued to tap his ape foot impatiently.

"2nd floor. Third room on ya right, sweetie." The clerk finally said before redirecting her attention back to her coveted magazine. Joan gave her a sarcastic thanks and walked to the elevator and pressed the button.

The elevator opened, and Joan walked in and presses the '2' button.

The sound of _Don't Stop Believin'_ filled the elevator.

 _Okay, seriously. Why 80's?_ 005 asked himself. A question that, sadly, had no answers.

The elevator reached floor two and the elevators opened with a ding. Joan stepped through the doors, and 005 heard her counting under her breath as she passed doors.

"…3!" She said happily and knocked on the white door. On the door was a golden (or so 005 guessed, as everything was very red) plaque that read 'Grady Harding'.

 _He must have changed his last name. That's probably smart._ The Charmeleon noted. The door swung open, revealing a middle-aged man with a hawk-like nose, buzz-cut grey hair, and circular wire glasses perched on the end of his long nose.

"Hmm…who might you be?" The man asked in a deep voice.

"I have a need to speak with you, Grady 'Harding'. Or should I say…Grady Hornne." Joan replied. The man's face fell he removed his glasses and opened the door wider, allowing her to enter. He shut the door behind her.

For some reason, 005 felt uneasy.

"How do you know my name?" The scientist asked without turning around.

"I'd rather not divulge. One of your old comrades." Joan said, "…but I know that you work with Team Rocket, and I need information."

"Do you now?" The scientist said, an ominous quiver in his voice, "Well, I'm afraid you'll never get it."

Then several things happened at once. 005, sensing danger, managed to force himself out of his Pokéball. At the same time, Grady whirled, holding a black handgun in his hand and aiming it at Joan, or rather, 005.

005 growled. Guns weren't illegal, but they were rare since most people used Pokémon to defend themselves.

The purpose Grady was clearly intending to use it for, however, was illegal. _Highly_ illegal.

"Y-You! Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Grady growled, cocking his gun.

"Obviously, no." The Charmeleon sneered. He kept up his confident outer shell, but he saw no way out of this situation. He would gladly take a bullet for a fourteen year old innocent girl, though he would rather wrench the gun out of Grady's hand. He was standing too far away for 005 to reach out and snag it, though, and so in order to grab it he would have to leap out of the range of fire and grab it, but doing so would give the scientist ample amounts of time to pull the trigger and kill Joan.

All 005 could do was stand there, but he didn't think Grady would shoot, for despite the scientist's glare, his hand was shaking and sweat beaded on his forehead.

"Don't follow me." He finally said, opening the door and sliding out.

Joan instantly released the other mutts. Steel didn't bother with opening the door, he simply kicked it down. The group of six turned down the hallway to see the elevator doors close on Grady. The panel above the elevator's doors revealed that Grady went to the roof level.

"Arceus dammit!" The Kadabra hissed. The six ran down the hall, and 005 pushed the elevator button. After a few minutes, the doors opened to reveal an old lady in a brown dress. The lady's jaw dropped. Ignoring her look, 005 pushed himself inside along with his comrades. The lady subtly reached to press the '3' button, but 005 grabbed her arm.

"No stops." He hissed. The lady's jaw dropped again and she huddled in a corner.

It happened to be the most uncomfortable elevator ride of 005's life, all happening with _Eye of the Tiger_ pumping in the background.

The doors finally opened to reveal a black helicopter with its blades already whirling. The helicopter was door-less, and Grady was visible in the pilot's seat. He gave them a panicked look and took off, barely clearing the building next to Draco Spire.

005 cursed and ran after him, leaping off of Draco Spire and onto the shorter building's spire next to it.

005 leaped from spire to spire, following the helicopter all the way. Eventually he had to dash across normal roofs, and the helicopter began to get farther away. 005 hissed and leaped again, only to be stopped in midair.

It was the Kadabra, who had picked 005 up in his psychic field. Behind him was Steel carrying Ember, and Dew carrying Joan.

"Wait for us next time, imbecile." The Kadabra huffed and put on a burst of speed. Slowly they began to gain on the helicopter, and after ten minutes of chasing it they pulled up right alongside it.

The Kadabra gritted his teeth,

"The wind from the blades is frickin' strong! I can't keep this up for long!" He hissed.

"Put me inside of it!" 005 yelled above the wind.

 _"Are you crazy!?"_ Kadabra's voice echoed in his mind.

 _"Probably, but just do it!"_ The Charmeleon thought fiercely. He felt a surge in the power surrounding him and suddenly he was on top of Grady. The scientist screamed and the helicopter began to go haywire, bucking up and down.

005 grabbed the scientist's shirt to brace himself, pulled his arm back, and punched Grady in the face. The headset the scientist was wearing went flying out the window and dangled out the side of the helicopter.

The scientist grabbed 005's arm. 005 wrenched it out of his grip and punched him again. His glasses joined the headset, but they fell all the way to the ground. Grady shoved 005 into the copilot's seat and grabbed the stick, righting the helicopter.

"You're gonna get us killed, fool!" Grady yelled. 005's face contorted in a scowl. He stood in the seat and punched Grady in his temple. The scientist went slack.

 _"Kadabra! Right the helicopter!"_ 005 screamed mentally. The chopper began to spiral towards the ground. Grady began to slide out, but 005 grabbed his arm.

A blue field surrounded the chopper, then petered out.

 _"Kadabra, now!"_ 005 screamed again. The ground got closer.

Suddenly Steel appeared in front of the chopper, with Ember slung across his shoulders. The Luxray looked terrified. The Lucario stuck out his paws and pushed on the chopper, preventing it from sinking down further, very quickly at least. Eventually the chopper began to gain more and more ground.

The Lucario wasn't strong enough to stop it. Another blue field surrounded the helicopter, and then faded again.

005 took a deep breath. He pulled Grady into his seat and moved to the pilot's seat. He grabbed the stick. He pulled back on it experimentally, and the chopper went back. He pushed forward and it went forward.

 _How do I aim it away from the ground?_ He thought in a panic.

 _"Kadabra!"_ He yelled.

 _"You aren't helping!"_ The psychic yelled back. Another field surrounded the chopper, but this time it didn't falter. The helicopter steadied. The Charmeleon breathed a huge sigh of relief. The whirring of the blades grew fainter and the helicopter began to descend to an open grass field. The landing was a little bumpy, but it left 005 alive.

The Charmeleon instantly jumped out of the copper, panting heavily.

"I'm…I'm alive." He realized. Steel, the Kadabra, and Dew landed. Joan and Ember leaped off of their carrier's back.

"005!" the Kadabra growled, he walked towards 005 angrily.

"Don't…make me…do that…again…you damn…you damn…" The Kadabra panted, his forehead beaded with sweat. Then his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell towards 005, fainting from sheer exhaustion.

005 caught him beneath his arms and gently laid him on the ground.

 _It…it took a lot out of him to save me._ 005 realized. The other four of the group watched in amazement. 005 crouched down and made sure the psychic was still breathing. His chest rose up and down gently, and 005 breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you." 005 muttered under his breath. Then the Charmeleon stood up and faced his team. "Kadabra is in no condition to fly back to base tonight, much less fly _me_ back with him. Therefore, I propose, that we camp out here for the night. At least, us Pokémon. We can spend the rest of the day interrogating this guy." The Charmeleon said, pointing to where Grady was sitting in the helicopter.

Everyone gasped. 005 turned. Grady was gone.

005 looked around in a panic. Where could he be?

Suddenly he felt something cold touch the back of his neck, and he heard a clicking sound he recognized as a gun cocking.

"You damn idiot. You'll never get to Giovanni. I'm going to kill you all, starting with your ass." Grady hissed.

005 squeezed his eyes shut. There was nothing anyone could do.

"Let…him…go!" 005 heard a familiar voice, but it was filled with more anger than he had ever heard before. He opened his eyes and saw Ember stalking forward, his tail flame huge and blue at the center. His eyes seemed to glow.

"What the hell? _You?_ Arceus…you're the biggest wimp ever! You were always so timid…idiot. You were the strongest of a—"

The Luxray growled, and suddenly a blast of fire burst from his mouth. At the center of the fire crackled a powerful lightning bolt. The powerful blast struck Grady in the chest before he could do so much as pull the trigger. He fell to the ground, convulsing, his clothes on fire. Dew ran forward and breathed a stream of water at him.

"Oh Arceus…what the hell did I do?" The Luxray shrieked, scrambling backwards and hitting Joan. He was breathing heavily.

"No…" 005 said, his eyes wide in shock. _The last time he was this worked up…damn!_ Dew spun on Ember,

"You have to calm down. Shh…it's okay." She said coolly. The Luxray ran away from Joan and all of them, sobbing heavily.

"I hurt someone…I hurt someone…oh Arceus…help me…" His breaths were short and shallow. He gave all of them a crazed look, his eyes turned pure red. His tail flame became almost as big as he was and solid blue.

"…oh f—" 005 started, only to be interrupted by a lightning bolt to the chest.

"What's happening?" Joan screamed. The Luxray lost all control, breathing flames everywhere and at everyone.

"He's losing control of his fire!" 005 yelled, dodging another lightning bolt. Steel ran towards Ember in an attempt to subdue him but the Luxray breathed another blast of fire crackling with electricity at him. The Lucario slumped. Dew took the skies, breathing blasts of water at the Luxray. The Luxray closed his crazed eyes and released a blast of electricity and fire that originated from his body and spread in all directions. 005 panicked and leaped on top of Jane, taking the blast for her. Pain shot through his body and electricity crackled on his skin. His world went hazy. _No. I can't faint now._ He thought.

005 forced himself back to his feet and faced Ember. Determinedly he ran at the Luxray.

The Luxray faced him, his face contorted in an ugly snarl and his mouth open and panting. His solid red gaze locked with 005's icy blue one. Smoke streamed from his nostrils and mouth.

" _STOP!"_ The Luxray hissed. 005 skidded to a stop a few yards away from Ember.

"Ember…it's me, your friend. Look around. You're hurting more people." 005 said. The chopper was lying on its side, totaled. Dew had crashed from the powerful blast, and Steel was knocked out a few feet away from Kadabra and Grady. Joan was lying on her back, eyes wide in shock and fear. The Luxray looked around.

"I…I don't… _ARGH!"_ The Luxray screamed in pain and his hind legs buckled. His eyes went from red to yellow to back to red. "…005…help!"

"Fight the fire, Ember. You can do it…fight it!" 005 ordered, walking towards the Luxray slowly. His eyes went back to yellow for a second, filled with pain.

"I can't hold it back for long…quick. Knock me out." The Luxray hissed. His eyes flickered red. 005 approached him slowly.

"Okay buddy. I got you." 005 raised his first and hit the Luxray in temple. Hard. Ember's eyes closed and he slumped to the ground.

Joan got up.

"Whoah…what the…what the heck…" She gaped.

"To be honest I…I was beginning to wonder if we actually…actually needed him." Joan stammered. "He was just so timid…and cowardly. Now I see why. He isn't a coward…is he?"

005 shook his head sharply looking at his knocked-out friend.

"No." he turned to look at Joan, "He's the bravest of us all."

* * *

005 pulled all the Pokémon to a small cave to the north of the small clearing, with the help of Joan. They didn't seem in pain, though, in fact they all appeared to be sleeping peacefully. It was still midday.

"Do you have any kind of rope or twine in your bag?" 005 asked. Joan slipped her backpack off of her shoulders and rifled through it.

"Oh!" She said, pulling out a length of rope, "I must have shoved the rope you used to bind me with in my bag." She handed 005 the rope.

005 walked over the Grady and wrapped the rope around his arms behind his back, binding them securely. He then propped him against the cave's wall.

"Where'd his gun go?" Joan asked. 005 searched the scientist's singed lab coat but found nothing.

"It must have flown out of his hand when Ember hit him." 005 said after turning up empty-handed. Joan sighed.

"We can't just leave that out there…I'll be right back." She said.

"Do you know how to handle those things?" 005 asked, concerned that she might shoot someone accidentally.

"My dad had one." She said simply.

In a few minutes she returned with the handgun in tow. She pressed a button on the side, then pulled out the magazine clip.

"Here. It's on safety and unloaded. Perfectly safe." She stuck the gun in the front pocket of her backpack.

"Ugh…" Grady groaned. 005 turned sharply towards the scientist. He opened his eyes and squinted.

"Where am I? Where are my glasses?" He moaned.

"Smashed at the foot of a mountain." 005 sniffed. He approached the scientist threateningly, getting right in his face and glaring.

"Am I close enough _now?"_ He hissed. Grady gulped. " _Tell_ me…where is Team Rocket's base?" Grady sneered,

"In the distortion world." 005 snarled and wrapped his hand around the scientist's throat.

"You nearly killed my entire team and sent one of my best friends into a rage. Give me one good reason not to _seriously hurt_ you _right_ now, or…well…I might do something I won't regret." Grady sneered again.

"Wrong answer!" 005 hissed and held the scientist in the air by his throat. He opened his mouth and let smoke stream from his mouth. Grady's confident expression dropped and turned into one of fear as he realized that the Charmeleon wasn't bluffing.

"Put me down! I'll tell you…" Grady huffed, grabbing at 005's arm. The Charmeleon opened his hand and let the scientist fall to the ground with a thump.

"I…don't know where all the bases are…" He started. 005 snarled again.

"Wait, wait! I do know…where one is though. In…in the Ice Path…on the bottom floor…you find an iron door with a locked keypad." The scientist stammered.

"What's the _code?"_ 005 said forcefully. Grady yelped,

"It…it changes weekly! This week it's 60457. That's all I know! That's the only base I ever went to! I swear!" Grady squeezed his eyes shut and looked away from the Charmeleon.

"He's…ugh…telling the truth…" a voice said from behind 005. He turned to see Kadabra lifting his head weakly, Joan kneeling over him and holding a potion.

"I figured a psychic could help figure out if he's telling the truth or not." She smiled. 005 nodded.

"What do we do with this guy?" Joan stood up.

"Don't kill me! Please!" The guy yipped. 005 rolled his eyes.

"Please. We're not as low as _you._ You walk him into town and turn him in to the cops. Give them the gun, you're clever enough to come up with some explanation. This guy will back it up, _right?"_ 005 hissed at Grady. Grady gave him a fearful look and nodded.

"Prison is safer than Giovanni will be once he's found out that I've failed." Grady mumbled.

"Um…one problem. I don't necessarily wish to walk several miles with this loser."

"Relax! I know you have both a Ponyta and a Skiddo. Lash him onto one, ride the other. Got it?" 005 said. Joan nodded and pulled two Pokéballs from her belt. She tossed them out, and a Ponyta and a Skiddo appeared. Then looked at me suspiciously.

"Wait…I've only had Squirt out in your presence. How do you know about…" Joan trailed off and gestured towards the two Pokémon, who looked around at the strange creatures around them.

"Come on…what do you think we _did_ all day yesterday? We didn't sit around and twiddle our thumbs!" 005 smirked. Joan sighed.

 **"I thought I smelled you yesterday."** The Ponyta whinnied. The Skiddo trotted up to the Charmeleon and sniffed him curiously 005 shoved him away.

 **"Oh yes! I smelled you too! Haha!"** The goat pranced around him happily. 005 sighed.

"Good job guys." The Charmeleon turned to the scientist and picked up easily, ignoring his protesting. He put him on the Skiddo. 005 then carefully untied the ropes then put his arms around the goat's head and tied them again.

"Will the Skiddo follow you?" 005 asked. Joan nodded.

 **"I will Master! I love master! Master, master, master!** The Skiddo said. 005 nodded,

 **"She does need to improve her skills, however. Were you present at yesterday's loss?"** The Ponyta added.

"Yes. She does need to improve her skills." He agreed.

 **"Hey!"** The Skiddo bleated.

"Hey! That's not fair! What are you guys saying?" Joan asked, mounting her Ponyta.

"Nothing. Hang on." 005 said. He walked around Joan and opened her backpack. He pulled out a few potions.

"Hey! What're you doing!" Joan demanded. 005 waved the potions in front of her face.

"Healing my teammates! Get going." 005 said. Joan rolled her eyes and kicked the Ponyta's side. The Skiddo followed with the disgruntled scientist on his back.

005 put two of the potions down and used the third to finish spraying Kadabra's wounds.

"…thanks…" he mumbled so quietly 005 could barely hear. 005 smiled slightly and moved on to Dew.

After he had healed and awoken Dew and Steel, the four sat in a circle around Ember.

"Is he good now?" 005 wondered aloud.

"Shh…he's peaceful." Dew smiled, stroking his fur.

"Ugh. Arceus damn. He did quite a number on all you losers." Kadabra grunted. Steel punched him in the arm, prompting a famous Kadabra glare to be directed his way.

"He'll be fine." Dew said, giving the Luxray a glance of…almost motherly…love. 005 sighed.

"Okay. I'm trusting you, Dew." He gave the Dewott a fake glare. She smiled. 005 stepped forward, brandishing the last of the potions. He sprayed a bit on the bump on the Luxray's head, and then on other lumps, bruises, and scrapes on the lion's body.

"Ember. You there?" Dew murmured, shaking him gently. Ember's eyes snapped open.

The team gave a collective sigh of relief.

The Luxray's eyes were a vibrant, clear yellow. The Pokémon pushed himself into a sitting position and shook his head wearily.

"How much… _damage…_ did I cause this time?" He asked, ears drooping.

"Don't think about that, sweetie." Dew murmured, giving him a hug. "The point is…we're all fine! Aren't we?"

"Pfft. Not really." Kadabra mumbled. Dew gave him a glare, and he instantly shut up.

"Yeah. We're fine. _Better_ than fine. When Joan gets back…we're going to the Ice Path. Grady told us Team Rocket has a base there.

"When we get there…we trash it. We will destroy Giovanni, one base at a time." All of the mutts gave each other nods of determination.

So, they waited for Joan.


	7. Chapter 6: Raid

**Chapter Six: Raid**

005 crossed his arms and sighed, tapping his foot impatiently.

" _Four_ damn hours!" Kadabra hissed, "She's been gone for _four damn hours!"_

"Give the girl some time! She has to talk to the police for goodness' sake!" Dew chastised. Kadabra opened his mouth as if to argue, then sighed.

"But Kadabra's right. She _should_ be back now." 005 said.

"What if…what if…she hurt?" Ember murmured.

"I'm sure she's fine." 005 replied.

The team waited some more. They sat around in an uncomfortable silence for another half an hour while the sun was setting beautifully, throwing shades of deep red, pink, and orange into the sky, with the light reflecting off of white puffy clouds, but the scene failed to calm 005. _Where the hell is she?_ He wondered, frustrated.

Then he heard the clip-clop of hooves turning the corner.

"Get back." 005 whispered. It was probably Joan, but 005 didn't want to take any chances. 005 and Ember held their tail flames behind their back. The hoof-beats came closer, and rounded the corner into the cave to reveal Joan on her Ponyta. The girl dismounted and stroked her Pokémon's mane before withdrawing it.

005 and the rest of his friends stepped out from the shadows.

"How'd it go?" 005 asked.

"And _what the hell took you so frickin' long?"_ Kadabra added. Dew frowned at him.

"Well…I gave them this story about how I found Grady contacting Team Rocket and he kidnapped me in his chopper and I used Wartortle to knock him out and crash land the chopper blah blah blah." Joan said, "Grady participated fully. I think he really is scared about what Team Rocket'll do to him if they find out he blabbed.

"And it was hard to get back here when the _cops_ were up in my face and scrutinizing every last detail of my story. But I mixed in enough truth to make it viable...I hope. The cops said they would call me back for another statement, but I gave them a phony Pokégear number."

"Wait…won't they come pick up the chopper?" 005's eyes widened. Joan nodded.

"Yeah…they're coming right now. We gotta get outta here." She said. Kadabra reacted instantly, picking 005 up in his psychic field and buzzing out the cave with the Charmeleon in tow.

"Woah, wingy! What about our teammates!" 005 growled. Kadabra, who was flying next to him, glared at the use of the now dead nickname.

 _"They'll follow."_ The psychic said telepathically. 005 looked down and saw several policemen and women one Arcanines approaching the crashed helicopter.

 _"They better get outta there fast…"_ 005 thought, looking back at the cave that was growing more and more distant. Before the police rounded the corner, a winged Dewott and a bionic Lucario flew out of the cave, with Joan and Ember respectively in tow.

Kadabra slowed down and allowed them to catch up, which they did in about a minute.

The sky was turning blue in twilight.

"Way to catch up!" 005 yelled above the wind, "Let's go destroy some bad guys!"

* * *

In about twenty minutes the team landed outside of the Ice Cave; a dangerous move considering it was no more than a two minute walk from the cave to Blackthorn. The entrance loomed before 005, and he could barely see more than a few yards into the darkness, but he saw that it was inclined sharply down, and that icicles already formed in the few yards he could see. The sun was now fully set, and the sky was getting darker by the minute.

A cool breeze seemed to emanate from the entrance. With determination and anger filling his heart, 005 stalked forward. His team followed him.

He held his unusually long tail in it hand for light, and had Ember walk beside him for additional light.

They walked through the cave,

And walked.

And walked some more.

005 was completely exasperated after three hours of combing the cave and finding no such door. It was bitter cold in the cave, and all of the team huddled around Ember and 005's tails for light and warmth. The Charmeleon sighed and went through anther turn, only to arrive a huge icy field. In the back corner of the field he spotted a ladder going down to some unseen location.

"That has to be it! That must lead to the deepest part of the cave!" Joan hissed, stepping forward hastily. 005 put out an arm to stop her.

"Wait. Let me melt the ice." He said. The Charmeleon opened his mouth and breathed a stream of fire onto the ice in front of him, melting it instantly. He continued to melt a path to the ladder, when suddenly he was filled with sharp pain. He looked down to see three claw marks across his stomach.

He instantly stopped.

"What's wr-wrong?" Ember asked, making himself smaller.

"Something attacked me." 005 replied. Something rammed into him and knocked him off balance.

"Who's there?" The Charmeleon yelled. Out of the shadows five Sneasel stepped out, led by a fierce-looking Weavile.

 **"You attacked our territory! You melted our ice! Why are you here?"** The Weavile hissed.

"What's she saying?" Joan whispered.

The Weavile and her band crouched.

"We meant no harm! We're just passing through!" 005 said. The Weavile hissed and sprang without warning.

He felt her knock into him, and then her presence was gone. He heard grunts of pain from his fellow teammates.

The Charmeleon felt a whisper of breath on the back of his neck, and he quickly whirled and punched, knocking a Sneasel into a wall and fainting it.

 **"Now you hurt one of my pack! You say you mean no harm!"** The Weavile's shrill voice rang through the cave.

"You attack us…we attack you." 005 replied. Steel knocked out another Sneasel.

 _Just three and the Weavile left._ 005 calculated. Something scratched him in the back, harder than the other scratches he had received. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Steel punching another Sneasel. Dew breathed a jet of water at another.

A Weavile appeared in front of 005, her fist coated in ice. She reared her fist back and swung. 005 grabbed her fist with his hand. She swung with her other hand, but 005 grabbed that as well. The two glared at each other.

"Get you pack, and leave. You can't win." 005 hissed. The Weavile backed up and made a weird hiss-like roar. The KO'd Sneasel got up slowly and stumbled after their leader, along with the remaining alert Sneasel.

"Well _that_ was frickin' convenient. Damn uncivilized Pokémon." Kadabra growled.

"Couldn't you have just located them with your psychic powers and knocked them out that way?" Joan asked. The psychic sniffed,

"Um, _hello_ they're _dark_ types. It would take a master psychic to even _sense_ their presence, much less find exactly where they are in this dimly lit cave."

"Come on." 005 said, climbing down the ladder.

The Charmeleon jumped down the last few rungs and swung his tail around, finding himself in another bitter cold, dark, room.

Ember jumped down next, not bothering with the ladder since he was a quadruped. The rest of the team followed, and they began to search the room.

After another half an hour, they found nothing.

"Arceus dammit!" The psychic hissed, banging his head on the wall.

"You scanned it for doors with your psychic, right?" 005 asked, his frustration growing.

" _Yes!"_ The Kadabra said. "Nothing! No door to be found!"

 _Peculiar…Grady didn't seem to be lying…and we're in the deepest part…wait…what if there_ isn't _a door yet?_ 005 realized.

"Look for a tunnel! Like a…secret passage! We've been looking at this wrong…of course Team Rocket wouldn't just have their base around where anyone could enter…"

Kadabra nodded and shut his eyes. A blue glow emanated from his forehead and spread throughout the room, briefly illuminating it with blue light. His eyes jerked open.

"Did you find something?" Joan asked. He nodded and brushed past 005 to a small pile of rocks. Kadabra looked around for a bit, then picked one of the smaller rocks up and threw it to the side. In the space where it was a hole in the ground. 005 rushed over, the rest of the team close behind. In the hole was a red button. Kadabra gave 005 a skeptical look, but the Charmeleon shrugged.

"You found it." Kadabra gave him an exasperated look and pushed the button.

The room rumbled.

"W…What's happening?" Ember said, backing away from the button.

"Kadabra! Is…is the tunnel collapsing? Should we evacuate?" Dew yelled in a panic, drawing Joan close to her and sheltering the girl with her wings, much to Joan's protest. Kadabra, however, shook his head sharply, his wings buzzing with excitement.

"No, it's _opening."_ Sure enough, a crack appeared in the stone wall itself. The crack grew wider and wider, eventually revealing a cold stone hallway that led to a heavy iron door.

005 dashed on all fours to the door and looked at the keypad. He squinted, trying to remember the code.

 _6045…8? No 7!_ He typed in the numbers and then pressed the 'enter' key. The door swung open with a loud buzzing noise. The Charmeleon wedged his foot in the door and held it open while his team streamed in.

He followed them into a large circular corridor made of concrete. When they were all in, a computerized feminine voice asked,

"Please state your name." Improvising, 005 yelled,

"Grady Hornne!"

"Name accepted. Identity: Grady Hornne. Welcome to Team Rocket's Ice Path base." The computer droned. The floor began to lower.

005 got down on all fours, bracing himself. He didn't know what was going to be under this floor, but he knew it wouldn't be good.

It was then he realized that he had absolutely no idea what he was going to do. _I just led my team into a place where they probably have genetically enhanced Pokémon, and they probably really want our asses back in a thick glass cage. We have no attack plan, no escape plan, and we cannot leave now. What the hell have I done?_

Shame flooded him. The floor came to a halt, revealing along, white hallway brightly lit, just like the one in the warehouse base. At the end of the hallway was another door with a keypad.

"What are the odds it's 60457 again?" Joan commented dryly. 005 shrugged and typed it in. Joan looked at him in incredulity, "I didn't mean for you to _type_ it! Now the alarm's gonna—"

She was cut off when the door emitted a loud buzz and swung open.

"Pfft. Team Rocket is damn lazy, of course they wouldn't change the frickin' password." Kadabra chuckled.

Inside there were three divergent paths.

"Which way…?" Ember muttered, swiveling his head around. 005 came up with a quick, rough, plan.

"The labs. We have to find the labs and free any mutts they have…and ruin whatever plans they have of making more." The Charmeleon said. He swiveled his head to Kadabra, "Can you find anyone in the area? Pokémon or humans?"

The Kadabra shut his eyes and concentrated.

"I…I can feel something…vaguely. It's strange though…I should be able to enter their damn minds…they're close by…dammit…but something is blocking them. I can't even determine how many of them there frickin' are! I'm sorry." Kadabra squeezed his eyes and pointed towards the left hallway. "There." He said.

005 led the charge, running all fours like an ape; on his knuckles. _Stupid genetics…this is the fastest and most comfortable way for me to run…but it's so weird…ugh. I'm a frickin' chimp lizard!_

He passed several doors and then came to a halt at another divergent path going either left or right.

"Kadabra?" 005 questioned.

"Right, dammit!" He said, hovering on his bug wings and zipping ahead of 005. Dew and Steel also took to the sky, carrying Joan and Ember.

005 followed Kadabra. The psychic took a left, then a right, then stopped abruptly. He whirled around and told everyone to be quiet with a finger in front of his mouth.

He landed and pointed to a door a few feet ahead on the right. It was white with a vertical window in one of the sides. 005 crouched next to it and listened in. He heard two scientists talking.

"…we finally did it…after forty-eight hours of staying awake and calculating and recalculating…we finally did it…we've finished Mewtwo's stem cells. We'll just insert them in the artificial womb and…" 005 ignored the rest and busted down the door, spotting a scientist carrying a small tube to a large, thick plexiglass, cylinder cage filled with orange liquid. Rows of computers lined the room.

The scientist looked at the mutts in shock. The one holding the tube tried to run towards the cage, but 005 leaped forward, pinned him down and wrenched the tube out of his hand. The Charmeleon threw it in the air and breathed a powerful blast of flames at it. It disintegrated. Then he took his fist and smashed at the container. He kept punching it until it splintered and the pieces spread all over the large room. Orange liquid was everywhere.

"What the hell have you done!?" the other scientist shouted.

"All our research…we spent weeks on that…Giovanni will…" The scientist beneath 005 gasped.

"Heh, we aren't that dumb!" Kadabra smirked. He turned towards the computers and raised his blade. Steel, Ember, and Dew turned towards them as well.

"No!" One of the scientists screamed, getting up and running towards them as if to stop them. 005 lunged forward and tackled him to the ground. His team went to work, hacking, blasting, and punching the computers until they were nothing but scraps of plastic, wire, and glass.

"Oh my Arceus…how could you?" the scientist 005 had tackled stammered.

"Ooh…yeah…Giovanni's going to be pissed." A silky voice said, originating from behind them. 005 let go of the scientist and got up on all fours. His team backed up and formed a semi-circle aimed at the door's opening. A man stepped into view, tossing a Pokéball up and down casually. He was well dressed, wearing a white blazer with a red 'R' embroidered on the pocket. He wore white pants, a blue shirt, and a black tie. He had slicked back silver hair, and steel grey eyes, but he looked very young, in his mid-twenties.

"You guys…" He pulled his lips down in a fake frown, "You guys will make the boss very mad. You just set us back by _weeks._ "

005 growled. "Who are you?" The Charmeleon growled.

"Whah? Pssh? You really don't know! I must say…" The man wiggled a finger, like a mother to her naughty child, "…I'm a little upset. But if you must know…" He tossed out an Arcanine. A very not normal Arcanine. "…I am Argo, head of Team Rocket's Johto division and the boss' right-hand man."

"Oh Arceus dammit, we got a sicko here. I assume Argo isn't even your real name?" Kadabra rolled his eyes. Argo rolled his eyes back. He then snapped his fingers, causing five Team Rocket grunts to appear behind him. These grunt didn't look like ordinary grunts, however. Instead of their normal uniform, they were all wearing diverse clothing and were well-dressed.

Argo's Arcanine advanced, growling. It appeared to be crossed with some kind of ghost type, it was a deep purple with red eyes and purple spikes protruding from its back.

"If you must know…it isn't. Attack." He snapped his fingers again.

All hell broke loose. The five grunts released their Pokémon, all of them appeared to be genetic mutations of some sort. Joan released her three Pokémon.

The Arcanine leaped forward, snarling. 005 and his team met it with a full-on assault, 005 breathed a stream of fire at the Arcanine, but it disregarded it entirely.

 _Flash-Fire! Also…if it's part ghost…there's nothing I can do here. What about the other mutants?_ 005 thought. They were now entering the room, one at a time.

005 advanced on one of the Pokémon that walked through the door. This Pokémon appeared to be some cross between a Machop and a fire-type, for he had red skin. The others streamed past him and went for his teammates.

There was also the fact that his fists were on fire. He swung at 005 but the Charmeleon dodged.

"Why are you following them?" 005 hissed. He was reluctant to hurt the mutant just yet, in case he would listen to reason. He danced across the floor, which was littered with liquid and machine parts, and dodged the Machop's continual assault.

 **"No other place for a Pokémon like me!"** The Machop hissed, hitting 005 in his gut.

005 punched back, socking the Machop in the jaw, forcing him to stumble back.

"Why aren't you speaking in the human tongue?" 005 grunted. The Machop swung with his left fist. 005 caught it. He swung with his right, but 005 caught that as well.

 **"That scientist that worked on you…he took that secret to his grave."** The Pokémon smirked, twisting his fists out of 005's hands and scratching the Charmeleon's face.

"What do you mean to his grave?" 005 demanded. He received a punch in the gut in response, then a punch in the face. 005 stood up, blocked a flaming punch then wrapped his claws around the Machop's throat and shoved him into the wall.

" _What_ do you _mean?"_ He hissed.

 **"I mean that Giovanni doesn't take rejection lightly."** The Machop smirked and kicked 005 in the abdomen, knocking the wind out of him. The Charmeleon reeled back.

"Dammit!" He cursed. _Russell is dead!_

* * *

Kadabra growled. He let loose a burst of psychic energy at the Arcanine, but it shrugged it off and coated him with flame.

Burning pain filled him. He glared at the Arcanine and raised his blade, now glowing with blue energy. He lunged at the Arcanine, but suddenly a blade blocked his. He pulled his blade back and turned to face the new threat.

It was another Scyther mutation, but it had a black beak and Talonflame wings, and its body was orange and grey. It let out a garbled screech. The hybrid raised its blades and brought them down on Kadabra.

He blocked them and pushed them back.

"Nice try, bub. I was trained by a one-armed Scyther for three years." He pointed his blade at the mutation, who looked back at him with solid red eyes. It screeched again and let out a burst of flame. Kadabra started up his wings and flew over the flames, barely preventing himself from scraping the ceiling. Unfortunately, he landed right on the Arcanine.

The ghostly dog reared up, knocking Kadabra into the ceiling. The dog opened its mouth, purple energy swirling in its mouth. Then it was barraged with leaves, flames, and water. Kadabra looked up to find Joan commanding her Pokémon, who danced around the Arcanine and barraged it with attacks.

It was a brief respite, however, because soon the Scyther flew at him on its bird wings. It screeched again and swung its blade. Kadabra blocked it. A furious blade-fight ensued.

The Scyther had the advantage of two blades, but Kadabra had the advantage of years of training. They stabbed, jabbed and blocked, until eventually the came to a standstill when Kadabra blocked both blades as they came down on his head.

"You've…made…a…mistake…" Kadabra said, strained, "You see…I don't play…by the frickin' rules!" He allowed psychic energy to flow through him and he surrounded the Scyther with the energy. He smashed him into the ceiling.

The Scyther spiraled down for a moment, but soon righted itself and looked up at Kadabra, screeching.

"You asked for it!" Kadabra's blade glowed with blue energy.

* * *

Steel avoided 005's flames and dashed at the Arcanine. He swung his bionic arm in a mighty punch. His fist went right through the Arcanine, but he got its attention. It wheeled on Steel with its burning red eyes and opened its mouth, only to be hit with a blast of blue energy, originating from Kadabra.

He heard Joan order her Pokémon forward. _I have no place in this fight._ He thought and dodged around the Arcanine to face another mutant.

A Scyther with wings buzzed through the door and went straight for Kadabra, and 005 engaged a red Machop. That left two.

To Steel's amazement, a little Skitty walked in the room. The pink cat looked at Steel and bounded over.

 _What madness is this?_ The Lucario though, dropping his arms to his side and cocking his head in confusion.

His bionic eye zoomed in on the cat. Information flitted across his vision. Suddenly the word, 'Warning' appeared, and Steel got into a battle ready stance.

The Skitty opened its mouth, and a blast of blue energy knocked Steel in his stomach. The Lucario was knocked back. He quickly recovered and straightened into a battle ready stance. In front of his eyes, the Skitty morphed and grew larger and darker until she was a Zoroark with a blue mane and silky black fur.

 _She's a Zoroark with Aura powers!_ Steel grunted. He ran at her and aimed a punch at her chest, but she dodged out of the way. He spun around and punched at her again, but she jumped back.

 **"Woah there."** She smirked.

Steel's bionic eye warned him of a surge in energy radiating from her, and he leaped out of the way. He prepared his own Aura Sphere and send it spinning her way. It hit her on her side, sending her underneath the raging Arcanine. She scrambled out from underneath it rather indelicately.

Steel clenched his fist and was about to swing when the Zoroark changed into the precise image of 005. Steel knew it wasn't him, but he hesitated long enough for the Zoroark to hit him with a pulse of dark brown energy.

The Lucario stumbled back into the wall.

Another Aura Sphere hit him in the stomach.

 _I will not be defeated by this imposter!_ Steel though, determined. He pulled back a fist and suddenly became aware of an ability in his arm, one he had never used before. He went ahead and activated it.

Spikes shot out all over his bionic arm. The Zoroark stepped back in surprise, which gave Steel enough time to punch her in the jaw. She fell flat on her back. Steel stepped over her and withdrew the spikes.

He smirked at her. _If I could talk, I would be taunting you right now._

* * *

Dew shot into the air and flew over the Arcanine and straight towards the other mutations. 005, Kadabra, Steel, and Joan had already begun to attack it, so she reasoned they didn't need her help.

Five genetic mutations streamed through the door. Dew circled and fired water gun down on a red and yellow Golduck. The mutation hissed and breathed a stream of flames at Dew, but she dodged. The Golduck then ran towards the back of the room, away from Dew.

Suddenly pain shot through her, zapping her all over her body and sending her crashing to the floor. Dew writhed as electricity crackled throughout her body. With incredible effort she rose to her knees, then her feet. Dew looked at her attacker through hazy vision, to see an Umbreon with yellow ears and a spiky yellow scruff.

A lightning bolt on the Umbreon's neck glowed and crackled, along with two others on her hind legs. Electricty shot from the bolts towards Dew.

Dew lunged to the side with the last of her strength, landing hard on the ground. She forced herself to stand again.

 _Electricity…it hurts so much…_ Dew thought. Her vision was blurred. She inhaled deeply and spat a powerful burst of water at the Umbreon hybrid. She shook her head, trying to clear her vision.

The world became slightly less hazy, and she spotted the Umbreon preparing an orb of purple energy. With a leap and a flutter of her wings, she was in the air as the Shadow Ball passed underneath her, harmless.

Dew pulled her scalchops off of her thighs and fed them with energy. They glowed blue. She threw them at the Umbreon, one striking the Pokemon in the head and the other in her chest.

The Umbreon hissed, her fur rippling with electricity, and she launched a Thunderbolt at Dew, who narrowly avoided the blast. Another Thunderbolt whizzed by her.

The third struck her in the chest. It jolted every nerve in her body, causing her unbelievable pain. She crashed to the ground again, and this time she couldn't force herself to rise. She pushed off the ground only to fall back down. The Umbreon stood over her, gloating.

 **"Say goodnight, 502."** Her fur crackled with electricity.

* * *

Ember cowered back as his friends charge forward.

 _I can't battle. I'll lose control again!_ He thought in a panic.

He stepped behind Joan, who was battling the Arcanine with her Wartortle, Skiddo, and Ponyta. He took deep breaths, trying to contain his panic and the fire inside him.

Ember watched Joan battle the Arcanine, making himself as small as possible. He squeezed his eyes shut and took deep, calming breaths. The burning sensation left his throat. He opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.

 _It has faded. Thank Arceus._

Then a Golduck appeared, blasting past Kiddo, Squirt, and Pony to stand in from of Joan. The Golduck's upper body was a normal blue, except for the fact that fire-like protrusions came from the crown on his head. His lower body was yellow, and his tail had a bright flame at its tip.

The Golduck opened his mouth, a light growing in his throat.

 _This is not the time to cower!_ Ember snarled and leaped in front of Joan, absorbing the blast for her.

"Keep fighting the Arcanine! I got this guy." Ember said. Joan nodded and scurried around Ember and the Golduck as they glared at each other.

Ember swallowed down his fear at this opponent.

"Why do you fight for these jerks?" Ember asked. A burning sensation filled his throat, but he forced it back down.

 **"I have no other place to go. Who the hell would want a monster like me?"** The Golduck hissed.

"You could come with us! Fight these monsters!" Ember yowled. The Golduck hesitated, then his face hardened once again.

 **"Yeah, sure, like _anyone_ would accept me! At least I have direction and orders here…you guys are running amuck…just waiting to be stopped!" **The Golduck hissed. He opened his mouth and breathed a stream of high-powered water at Ember, a grimace on his face.

The pain was instant, and stung like crazy. Ember's vision flickered, but he quickly regained his strength.

Electricity crackled on his foreleg's electricity pouches, and he launched a Thunderbolt at the Golduck. It zapped along the creature's skin, causing him to wince in pain and fall to one knee.

It doesn't have to be like this…" Ember said, wincing along with the Golduck.

The burning sensation was nearly overwhelming now. Ember thought that if he used one more attack it might overwhelm him.

 **"It…can't be…any other way!"** The Golduck stood and opened its beak again. A wince of pain flashed across his face as he released another jet of water.

Ember breathed heavily. The burning sensation filled his entire body and his vision flickered red.

 _Oh Arceus…I can't hold it down…_

* * *

Joan sent out her Pokémon and ordered them forward. 005 breathed fire on the Arcanine, but the dog seemed completely unaffected, so the Charmeleon ran off to face another mutation. Steel gave it a punch that went straight through it. Then Kadabra launched a stream of psychic energy at it. The Arcanine turned sharply and covered the psychic in flames. Kadabra lunged forward and sung his blade, only to have it blocked by another mutant.

Joan took the opportunity and yelled,

"Squirt, Water Gun! Pony, Ember! Kiddo, Razor Leaf!" The Skiddo shot leaves forward from his ruff, which hit the Arcanne spot on. The ghostly dog wheeled on them and opened its mouth, preparing a Shadow Ball, only to be blinded by flames, then hit in the mouth by water.

Then Kadabra landed on the Arcanine. It reared up, smashing the psychic into the ceiling, and began to form another Shadow Ball.

"Again!" Joan commanded desperately. Skiddo, Squirt, and Pony attacked as a team, hitting the dog in the chest simultaneously.

"Keep attacking him!" The three Pokémon danced around the Arcanine, hitting him with their respective attacks. They barely seemed to faze the Arcanine. Suddenly a Golduck mutation appeared and batted Joan's Pokémon aside. The Pokémon approached her menacingly then paused and opened his beak, a light glowing in the back of his throat. Joan squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the burn, but instead Ember leaped in front of her and absorbed the blast.

The Luxray gave her a fierce look, his tail flame growing larger.

"Keep fighting the Arcanine! I got this guy." He said. Joan nodded and dodged around the Golduck, who now ignored her. The Arcanine was standing over her precious Pokémon, who cowered in fear. It opened its mouth and blasted them with purple fire, then batted them towards Joan.

"Come on guys…you can do it!" Joan encouraged. Squirt slowly got to his feet, followed by Pony, and lastly Kiddo. The Arcanine growled and approached them menacingly.

 _This isn't working…its barely affected by my attacks…if I could just have Pony Stomp it in the head! Wait…_

"Squirt, Bite its foreleg!" The Wartortle dashed forward and clamped his jaws on the Arcanine's leg. It howled in pain.

"It can't disappear now! Pony, Stomp its head! Kiddo, Leech Seed!" Joan ordered. The Ponyta kicked the Arcanine in the head before it could shake Squirt off. Kiddo launched a seed at its middle, which burst into vines and wrapped around his middle. The Arcanine whined.

"Stomp again! Kiddo, Tackle!" The Ponyta kicked the Arcanine again, and Kiddo head-butted it in the side. The Arcanine howled, and in one fluid motion knocked Squirt into Pony and kicked Kiddo away. The Skiddo slid into Steel, who was in a fierce battle with a Zoroark mutant. The force of the impact knocked Steel's Aura Sphere off course, and it hit a barely conscious Dew.

"Regroup in the back!" 005 called out. Dew appeared exhausted, but she managed a short flight over the Arcanine and landed next to Joan, 005 ran over to Joan's other side, and Kadabra and Steel joined the line.

"Guys…fall behind me…" a weak voice came from behind Joan. She turned to see Ember standing over the now unconscious Golduck mutant. The Luxray's eyes flashed red.

Joan quickly ran behind Ember and pressed herself against the wall behind him. The rest of the team followed without complaint.

The Arcanine hybrid ripped off the leech seed vines, and the other mutants formed a line next to the ghostly dog. Argo stepped into the doorway and smirked.

"Very entertaining! But enough with the theatrics. Mutants! Finish them." The silver-haired executive ordered.

The mutants advanced.

Ember's eyes went red.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **The chapter is complete! Thanks to all those who submitted OC's, and sorry if yours didn't get in. I realized I was really unorganized with the forms, so sorry about that. Next time I'll ask for the descriptions right away and also for personalities.**

 **I will probably do more OC's in the future, so at that time I'll go through the ones that didn't get in and hopefully be able to squeeze them in somewhere.**

 **Since I didn't ask for personalities, I did the best I could. So sorry if their personality doesn't suit them or isn't what you imagined!**

 **This is a _crap_ long chapter. They seem to keep getting longer and longer. I aim for 3000 words a chapter, but this one is over 5000! I guess my ridiculously long author's note doesn't help.**

 **(Ironically, I was watching _X-Men_ [2000] at the time of writing. I did make a character say 'Bub'. Kudos to you if you know who that's from, and a cookie if you can find which character says it.)**

 **(Also, in case you want to know, I imagine Argo's voice to be exactly like Venom's from _Spider-man 3_. His voice is GORGEOUS!)**

 **(And I don't own the aforementioned Marvel movies, as a disclaimer.)**


	8. Flashback: A Step Back

**Flashback: A Step Back**

 _3 Years Ago…_

005 ran along the rooftops. He peaked over the skyscraper. Below was a clean black limo driving along the streets of Saffron City.

Inside was the subject of his obsession, the subject of his full attention for the past seven years; Giovanni. The former leader of Team Rocket.

The limo was driving slowly through the wide streets. Saffron City was one of the few place where cars were common, due to its large size. The Charmeleon ran on all fours and leaped to another building. He focused on his unorthodox path across the skyscrapers, but occasionally looked down at the limo.

After a few minutes the limo pulled to a stop in front of a very distinctive building. The tallest in town, one with a purple roof with a semicircle ridge.

It also happened to be several yards higher than the building that 005 was currently on, so instead of climbing up it he looked over the side and watched as the former boss got out of his limo. He was wearing a long black trench coat, aviator sunglasses, and a fedora, but 005 could tell by his build and his urgent stride that it was him. It was Giovanni, and he happened to be stopping at the building he had robbed over ten years ago; the Silph Co. Building.

"What the frickin' hell are you doing here, dammit!" An angry voice slurred from behind him. The Charmeleon turned slowly to find a blade pointed at his throat. A Kadabra stood before him, one with insect wings and a Scyther arm. The Kadabra chuckled.

"064? What are _you_ doing here?" 005 growled, pushing the Kadabra's bladed arm away.

"I own this damn city you mother f—"

"Are you _drunk?"_ The Charmeleon asked, incredulous. The Kadabra's speech was slurred, and he appeared to be wobbling where he stood. The Charmeleon grabbed the psychic's face and pulled it close to his own, inhaling deeply.

"Arceus damn! You _are_ drunk! How did you get ahold of frickin' _alchohol?"_ 005 cursed.

"Hey! Don't you sass me, bastard. It's been at least forty years since I…wait a minute…what the hell are you doing here!? You didn't…answer…my…question." The Kadabra mumbled, poking 005 gently with every word.

"Same thing I was doing five years ago. Same thing I'll be doing next time we meet. Same thing I'll be doin' until _he_ is dead in the dust; following Giovanni." 005 replied. "Why the hell are you drunk, man?"

"It helps me forget." 064 slurred, pulling a previously unseen bottle of crimson liquid out from behind his insect back and taking a swig.

"Arceus!" 005 hissed, yanking the bottle out of his hands. The Kadabra glared at him for a minute, then waved a hand, as if too drunk to care.

"Eh, whatever 005. Try some, it frickin' helps, I promisisis…I pormiss…I promim…whatever. I swear."

005 sighed in exasperation. He wouldn't fall for something as dumb as that. He looked down at the liquid, and suddenly overcome with temptation, took a swig and swished it around in his mouth. Then he caught sight of 064 holding a white tube in his mouth, and he lost all desire to swallow the liquid and spat it out, coughing. He snatched the white tube out of the Kadabra's mouth before he could light it on 005's tail.

"Arceus damn! Where do you get this crap?" The Charmeleon hissed, grinding the cigarette beneath his foot.

"I know a guy whos knows a guys. No questionons…very discruh…discrah…seceret." 064 said, looking oddly glum.

"My Arceus. What happened to you? Last time I saw you, you blew up an island and nearly killed me! Now you're doing all this human crap! What else? Are you taking drugs?" The Charmeleon asked suspiciously. The Kadabra shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh my _Arceus!"_ 005 cursed, "What's wrong with you, man!? This won't solve your problems!"

"Like I ssssaid…I forgot…forget…them." He said, staggering slightly though he wasn't walking. He pulled out another random cigarette and lit it before 005 could snatch it.

"Oh my _Arceus!"_ 005 hissed, yanking the cigarette from his mouth. 064 blew out a long wisp of smoke, looking glum again.

"Hey…buster…" he slurred, poking 005 in the ribs with his blade, "you gotta loosssen yousself up. I bet if I shoved coal up your—"

"Good Arceus. Forget Giovanni, I need to clean you up." 005 sighed. The Kadabra laughed crazily.

"I'm…I'm fiiiiner than you, man…I'm…mmm…goodnight." 064 fell forward, and 005 caught him with his arms under the Kadabra's. He glanced back at his target to find the limo pulling away from Silph Co.

 _This isn't over, Giovanni._ The Charmeleon swore silently, shifting the Kadabra's weight to sling the psychic over 005's shoulders.

* * *

Long, long, long story short, he managed to lug the KO'd Kadabra to a more secluded area outside Saffron City. He even found a small stream.

The Charmeleon cupped his hands, filled them with water, and dumped the water on 064's face. The Kadabra moaned and swung his non-bladed hand, as if swatting a fly.

005 threw more water on the psychic's face. This time 064 jolted awake, his eyes half closed and the whiskers coming out of his face crumpled.

"Hmm…where the hell am I? Why does my frickin' head hurt like ass?" The Kadabra groaned, rubbing his head. His eyes were completely bloodshot.

"Well, buddy, I think you might have one of the worst hangovers in Pokémon history. Pokémon shouldn't even _have_ hangovers, moron!" 005 said, making a point to yell the last word. The psychic leaped several feet in the air and growled,

"Stop screaming! My frickin' head hurts like I was dragged through the frickin' distortion world, son of a—"

"Goodness! This is why drinking, smoking, and doing drugs is bad!" 005 slapped the side of 064's head, and then grabbed the Kadabra by the back of his neck and shoved him face first into the little stream.

When his head came out of the water, he surrounded it in flames, then he dunked him in the stream again. 064 shoved him away, his face soaking wet, yet covered in small scorch marks.

"What the hell are you doing?" He growled, wiping his face.

"Trying to get you sober, or fully awake, at least. It looks like I succeeded in one or both." The Charmeleon crossed his arms.

"Well then, congratulations, you officially pissed me off. Why didn't you let me _stay drunk!"_ 064 yelled.

"Because, dammit, like it or not we were in the same boat once and I…okay I care for you. For some reason we keep running into each other, and we know what each other has been through…and I guess we're friends. I just don't want to find you dead in an alleyway because you got wasted and fell of a skyscraper, okay?" 005 snorted.

064 sighed and pulled out another cigarette, lighting it with 005's tail. 005 glared at him, but the Kadabra gave him a look that said, "please-just-this-once-humor-me", and so the Charmeleon sighed and let him smoke.

"I wish I could die." The Kadabra admitted. He took one long drawl and then just crushed the butt in the stream. 005 stared into the distance.

"Sometimes I do too. I thought about it once before. A few weeks after we escaped. There I was, on top of a tall skyscraper, looking down, and thinking about how much I hated my life." The Charmeleon admitted, finding a nearby tree to lean against.

"Why didn't you jump?" 064 asked. 005 focused his eyes into the Kadabra's.

"…because. I realized that I was a monster. I realized that I was an ugly genetic mutt and that I could do nothing about it, ever." 005 chortled, "It sounds crazy, but that's what _changed_ me. I had _asked_ for Mewtwo to spare us, and the son of a bitch did, and so I realized that I could've died, but I wasn't dead. I realized that, yeah, I was a freak of nature. It was then I accepted it, and decided to use my screwed up genes for something worthwhile. For preventing someone like me from ever being created again. So I watch Giovanni. If I can do something worthwhile…if I can help just one Pokémon despite the fact that I'm a monster…then I'm worth it right? If I do that…then I'll know that I had a purpose. So I took a step back. I didn't jump."

064's eyes misted over. He seemed on the verge of tears.

"Well, congratulations on your epiphany." He laughed bitterly. "I haven't had mine yet. Here I am _Arceus! Waiting_ for you to give me some divine realization! But he hasn't given me mine yet. And I was in the same boat you were in."

"You nearly jumped?" 005 asked. The Kadabra shook his head.

"Nope. I _did_ jump. But…apparently I inherited some damn instinct from the damn Scyther they married me to. And my wings buzzed. I wanted them to stop, commanded them to, and asked Arceus to just please, please, let me die! But he didn't. I tried slicing my throat, my arm stopped itself. Tried slicing my wrist, same thing. I've tried to hang myself, slice my own throat, even got hold of a gun once. But no matter how hard I try…my instincts kick in. I _just…can't…die._ So I smoke. So I drink…so I try to forget that I'm a screwed up monster, worse than any of you were. They mixed me with my _weakness._ Ninety-seven other Kadabra died! Why couldn't I? I hate my pitiful existence. I hate the Arceus damn scientists who created me. I hate everyone! So do me a favor, 005. Next time we see each other, just leave me the hell alone." 064 stood up and pulled a pack of cigarettes from a random place on his body. He tossed them to the stunned Charmeleon.

"Heh. Use these if you want. Or don't. They won't help me anymore." His wings began to buzz.

"Where will you go?" 005 asked. The Kadabra turned away from him.

"I'll go terrorize Viridian Forest. Some of my Scyther kin live there, let's see how they like me." The Kadabra leaped into the sky, his wings keeping him airborne. He rose higher and higher, and within minutes he was gone.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **This is the first of five special chapters. Each will be told from a different mutt's perspective. I hope you enjoyed this, even though I decided to place it after a cliffhanger ;)**


	9. Chapter 7: Round Two

**Chapter Seven: Round Two**

Ember charged forward, his fur crackling with lightning and setting itself on fire simultaneously. He crashed headfirst into the Arcanine, causing a tremendous explosion of lightning and fire that spread throughout the room in all directions, scorching the walls.

Joan prepared herself for the blast by cringing and covering her face, but before the blast could strike her she was covered with feathers and velvety fur. Joan opened her eyes to find Dew staring straight ahead with her eyes wide with pain. She coughed. Electricity crackled across her body.

"Dew!" Joan gasped in horror. The Dewott looked down at Joan and groaned weakly. She collapsed to the floor, twitching.

All the other mutations lay on the floor as well, some barely conscious, others knocked out entirely. In the center of the destruction stood Ember. The Luxray was panting heavily, smoke rising from his mouth and electricity crackling across his fur. He looked back at Joan, his eyes solid red. His gaze flickered back to yellow, and he gave a low moan and collapsed.

Argo peeked around the doorway, a silver eyebrow arched. He stepped into the room.

"Holy crap. That Luxray is frickin' strong." He smirked. "Grunts, detain the Pokémon and the girl. Take that Luxray to the lab." He snapped his fingers, and the five grunts rushed into the room. They all recalled their fainted Pokémon. Two stepped forward to grab Ember, one by his feet, the other cradled his head none too gently.

"No! Leave him alone!" Joan said, running forward to stop them. The two other grunts stepped forward and grabbed Joan's arms. She kicked one in the shin and tried to wrench her arms from their grip, but the two burly men held fast.

005 raised his head, dazed, but when he tried to stand he collapsed back down. Steel and Kadabra were out. Dew was the worst of all, he wings spread in awkward angles and her eyes still wide open. Sparks of electricity still crackled through her fur occasionally. Being a water type bred with a flying type, she took the worst of the attack, and she had been severely wounded earlier in her battle with the Umbreon mutt.

In short, Joan was the only one left who was conscious. So, the guards picked her up by her arms and carried her out of the room, despite her kicking and screaming.

They dragged her through the maze of halls and doors, and then down some stairs and into another hall lined with doors. The dragged her into one. In the back of the room was a large glass cage. They pressed a combination into a keypad on the door of the cage and threw her in before slamming the door shut.

Joan inhaled deeply, trying to take nice long breaths to prevent herself from panicking. The team had been captured, Dew might be dead, Ember had been taken to Arceus-knows where, and nobody knew where they were.

Joan couldn't even call for help on her Pokégear, as they had taken her bag before shoving her in the cage.

Then the door to the room opened, and five grunts entered. Two carried Dew, and three lugged one of Joan's Pokémon each over their shoulder. They opened the cage and literally threw the four new arrivals into the already rather cramped cage.

"Hey, wait! Dew needs medical attention!" Joan shouted, banging on the thick glass of the cage. "Wait!" The grunts ignored her and exited the room. Joan ran to Dew's side.

"Dew…you saved me…" Joan bit her lip, her eyes tearing up. She touched the Dewott's side, but her hand was met with a jolt of electricity. The Dewott's eyes were still open. Ignoring the electricity, Joan closed Dew's eyes.

Joan eyed the Dewott's chest in worry, but it seemed to be rising and falling gently.

 _She's alive…for now, at least._ Joan though in relief. Her own Pokémon were fine, and were even getting up. They had barely taken any damage from Ember's explosive attack.

 _Too bad he can't control his powers. He is ridiculously strong! I wonder what Team Rocket is going to do to him…._

Kiddo nudged Joan from behind. She smiled faintly and stroked his head gently. Pony and Squirt stood beside Kiddo. Joan sat down and leaned against the glass wall of the cage, surrounded by her Pokémon. She gave a worried glance at Dew. Without medical attention, Joan wondered if Dew would recover properly from her grievous injuries.

Joan sat for a few minutes, contemplating her grave situation. She yawned, and suddenly realized that she was exhausted. She lay down on the cage's floor and tried to make herself comfortable. Pony lay down at her head and motioned to her back with her head. Joan smiled at the horse and scooted forward, placing her head on Pony's back.

Despite her discomfort, she was asleep within minutes.

* * *

005 opened his eyes wearily. He was still sore from the fight, and when he tried to move he felt more pain. He tried to open his eyes fully, but his eyelids refused to acquiesce. He closed his eyes and his consciousness left him.

* * *

005 woke again, and this time he felt much better. He opened his eyes and rubbed his mask. He looked around the thick glass cage to find Kadabra in the corner. For once the psychic looked calm, despite their circumstances. 005 tried to stand, but his knees buckled. So he settled for sitting and leaning against the cage wall.

"Welcome to hell." Kadabra smirked. 005 winced back.

"Good morning to you too." The Charmeleon sighed. "I got us into quite the mess. I'm sorry…I should have planned ahead."

"You should have, bastard. But…it's not just your fault I…I should have been able to sense that many minds!" Kadabra hissed and slammed his fist into the side of the cage.

"Any idea why you couldn't sense anything?" 005 asked. The Kadabra shrugged.

"Must be something in the walls. I can't sense anything right now, except you and the cage mechanism. I can't move it with my mind though…something is blocking me."

"Huh. We…gotta get outta here!" 005 cursed he forced himself to stand and viewed the cage. He made a fist and pounded on the glass as hard as he could. It didn't even dent it. He tapped into his natural energy and allowed it to flow into his fist. He punched the glass again, with the same result.

"Damn!" He cursed, "It's too thick!"

"Could have told ya that for nothing, moron." Kadabra huffed. He held up his blade, which 005 could see was chipped in several places.

"Maybe fire!" 005 took a breath.

"No! When the cage scans a large amount of fire it seals itself and sucks the oxygen out of the air. I explored the mechanism plenty." Kadabra warned. The Charmeleon cursed.

"Any hidden doors or keypads in here?" He asked. Kadabra shook his head.

"Nope. Only way in is an eight digit keypad on the outside. Team Rocket is clever. This cage is twice as advanced as the ones we were in ten years ago." 005 cursed. He scratched at the glass experimentally, but it did nothing to the thick substance.

"This is _not_ normal glass, that's for sure." The Charmeleon said, sitting back down. A few feet away from Kadabra.

"Oh, great deduction, Sherlock." Kadabra rolled his eyes.

"What do we do?" 005 sighed. The psychic shrugged before reaching behind his back. There was a sound like ripping tape, and when he brought his hand back down it was holding a small metal flask. Kadabra's eyes glowed blue and the cap unscrewed. He took a swig.

"Arceus. I though you gave that up!" 005 hissed, but he made no move to snatch it from Kadabra.

"Meh, for the most part, I did. Want some?" The psychic offered the flask to 005. The Charmeleon sighed. Giving into temptation, he took the flask and took a small sip.

This time, he swallowed.

"Woah…" 005 coughed. His tail flame flared up slightly. "Strong stuff, man." He handed the flask back to Kadabra, who took another sip.

They shared the rest of the alcohol, but the flask was small, and so it was quickly depleted. 005's soreness was gone and his skull buzzed pleasantly.

He giggled. Kadabra gave him a sharp, concerned glare.

"Oh Arceus, don't tell me your already drunk!" The psychic growled. 005 shook his head.

"No…it's just ironic. We're here captured again. We happened to be together. You happen to have alcohol. I'm just laughing at life, and the coincidences that happen during it."

"Yeah…I was pretty bad all those years ago, huh? Not that I'm better now…still waiting for that epiphany. By the way…I always wondered…did you ever use those cigarettes?" Kadabra asked. 005 looked at the psychic.

"Every one. Then I realized that I didn't need them…I can generate my own smoke, you see." The Charmeleon inhaled and puffed out a small smoke ring that rose to the ceiling and dissipated.

"Not too much, or the system will suck out our oxygen. You'd die instantly." The Kadabra motioned 005's tail.

"Heh, that's a myth. I would survive until we ran out of air, but I would be in a lot of pain." The Charmeleon said. Then the door to the room the cage was in opened, and a grunt stepped in the room. This grunt was wearing the outfit, black tights and a black turtleneck with a big red 'R' on the front. He opened the cage door and tossed in a few Oran Berries.

He shut the door and left.

005 stood up and picked up a berry before tossing it up in the air and catching it in his mouth. He grabbed another and threw it to the Kadabra, who scarfed it down instantly.

"Arceus I'm hungry, toss me another." Kadabra asked. 005 looked down at the last berry. His stomach complained with hunger, but instead of taking it for himself he tossed it to Kadabra, who ate that one quickly too.

"That's a bit better. Damn small rations…but they'll help heal our wounds...at least."

The Charmeleon sat back down.

"We have to get out of here Kadabra…one way or another…we gotta get outta here!" He smashed his fist into the floor.

* * *

Joan sighed, pacing through the cage impatiently. Dew was leaning against the glass with her arms folded, following Joan's pointless trek. Joan's Pokémon surrounded the Dewott, also following her with their eyes.

"That won't help, you know." The Dewott sighed. They had been in this place, trapped, for three days straight now. _Three days._ Joan was getting impatient with herself. She had to get out of here, then find the other mutts so they could all escape. However, she heeded Dew's wishes and came to a halt.

"Ugh…if only we could break the glass!" Joan peered at the clear substance. She felt something in the back of her head, the feeling that she was on the edge of an epiphany.

"Wait…wait wait…break the glass…the glass is hard, very hard, so hard that almost nothing is harder, so almost nothing can break it…but wait. Something in this room _is_ harder…" Joan turned to Dew.

"I know how to escape."

* * *

"Again!" Joan yelled. Pony shifted her weight to her forelegs, pulled her hind legs back, and kicked at the weakened glass with all her might. The thick material splintered and the wall collapsed.

"Yes! Great job!" Joan pumped her fist and ran out the opening, Pony, Dew, Kiddo, and Squirt behind her.

"How…?" Dew asked.

"I remembered that Ponyta hooves are ten times harder than diamond! If that isn't stronger than this glass stuff, than nothing is. Come on, we gotta go." Joan explained hurriedly approaching the door to the room. Dew peered at it.

"Hang on…we have no idea what the code is…" Dew bit her lip. Joan shrugged.

"Break it, Kiddo." She said. Dew put a hand in front of the goat, stopping him cold.

"Wait…when the door comes down…the alarms are gonna blast. You might be in danger!" Dew muttered, then she looked down. "I…I'm not strong enough to protect you. If you were with Steel or 005…but I'm so weak. Are you sure you can be safe?" Joan looked at the Dewott, slack-jawed, then shut her mouth and straightened her back.

"You _are_ strong, Dew! We _can_ do this! Kiddo…break it!" Joan ordered again. Dew nodded and stepped back.

The Skiddo ran forward, horns lowered, and crashed into the door, breaking it down easily.

The alarms blared. Joan ran into the hall and view all of the doors anxiously. She pointed to the door across the hall and ordered Kiddo forward. The goat ran forward and broke the door down, but the cage inside was empty.

Joan chose the door next to her own cell and ordered the Skiddo forward again. This time, she found 005 and Kadabra in there. The hybrids stood up and looked at Joan in surprise.

"Pony, break the cage!" Joan ordered. Then she heard footsteps approach, and she wheeled to see two normal grunts coming forward menacingly, an Arbok and a Raticate followed them.

"Arbok! Poison fang!" One ordered,

"Raticate! Crunch!" The other said. Dew stepped forward, Kiddo and Squirt next to her.

"Water Gun and Razor Leaf!" Joan ordered. Squirt opened his mouth and shot a powerful jet of water that hit the Raticate in its open mouth. Kiddo shot razor sharp leaves from its scruffy back at the Arbok, but the snake dodged and seized the goat by its foreleg.

Pony kicked the glass again, denting it further.

Dew yanked her scalchops off of her thighs. They glowed blue and lengthened into blades of pure energy. She swung them at the Arbok, knocking it across the room, but the snake didn't relinquish Kiddo.

The goat squealed in pain and thrashed, but he couldn't break free.

"Water gun again, Squirt! Don't hit Kiddo!" Joan ordered in a panic. The Skiddo's throes grew weaker, and meanwhile, the Raticate was rising back to its feet while it sputtered out water.

Dew rushed forward to engage the Raticate.

"Now use Hyper Fang!" The Rocket grunt yelled. The Raticate's fangs grew and glowed with white energy.

"Arbok, finish it with Wrap!"

Several things happened at once. Pony kicked the glass again, causing it to splinter and free Kadabra and 005. The Arbok, with its jaws still locked on Kiddo, wrapped its body around himand squeezed the goat. Squirt fired his Water Gun and managed to hit the Arbok, but it didn't faze the snake. Dew smacked the Raticate with her scalchops and sent it flying back towards the grunts. Three more grunts appeared, one with a genetic mutt following behind her.

Then Kiddo began to glow. He glowed brighter and brighter and began to grow larger, and when the glow faded he was nearly twice his size and glaring down at the Arbok with a steely gaze. In a smooth motion, the Gogoat head-butted the snake and flung him towards the grunts before leaping back towards Joan.

005 and Kadabra came to stand next to Joan.

"Pony, check the other rooms for Ember and Steel to free them." Joan commanded. The Ponyta whinnied in affirmation and began to knock down doors with her fire charge.

The defeated grunts withdrew their Pokémon and stepped back, while the three new grunts stepped forward, two with their ordinary Pokémon and one with her mutt.

This mutation was a Golett with a ribbon coming out of his head and what appeared to be a Honedge for an arm. The Golett removed the Honedge's sheath and stepped forward, brandishing his weapon.

The normal Pokémon were a Crobat and an Absol.

"Squirt, Kiddo, attack the Absol with whatever moves you wish." Joan said before rushing to join Pony.

Dew took to the air and faced the Crobat. This battle would be awkward in such a cramped hall, but she steeled her confidence and brandished her scalchops. The bat flew at her with its wings glowing purple.

That left 005 and Kadabra, who faced the Golett. The Golett lifted his sword in the air and said,

 **"Hello, my good gentlemen! Now, we duel, aha!"** The Golett rushed forward.

"I got the creepy sword arm." Kadabra smirked. 005 nodded. The two ran forward.

Kadabra soon got involved in a duel with the Honedge arm, which seemed to have a mind of its own, as the Golett also fended off 005 with the sheath and his other arm with relative ease.

Kiddo and Squirt worked together, barraging the Absol with Razor Leaves and Water Guns and trying to avoid the disaster Pokémon's powerful dark type attacks.

 **"Congrats on evolving."** Squirt grunted, narrowly avoiding a blast of dark energy.

 **"Thanks, buddy!"** Kiddo grinned, slamming his red hooves into the Absol's side. It groaned before wheeling on Squirt and leaping forward with a Sucker Punch, which hit the turtle squarely in his stomach.

Kiddo scowled and charged forward, head-butting the Absol into the wall and fainting it. Squirt rose to his feet and pointed towards the hall's entrance. Kiddo turned towards the hall and gasped.

 **"Argo."** Squirt coughed.

* * *

Joan narrowed her eyes in frustration. After having Pony knock down all but one of the doors, they still hadn't found Steel or Ember. The Ponyta cloaked herself with flames and broke down the last door. Inside it was Steel.

"Thank Arceus! Steel!" Joan ran forward, only to stop in horror. The Lucario's eyes were both solid red.

"Wh…what did they…they gave you another…" Joan stammered. The Lucario nodded, his face oddly expressionless without a normal eye.

"Pony, kick it down." Joan choked. The Ponyta nodded and trotted to the cage, turned around, and kicked it hard.

* * *

With a final punch and slice, 005 and Kadabra finished off the Golett and sent the knight tumbling to the ground.

"Arthur, you lost!" The Golett's master growled before whipping out a Pokéball and withdrawing the knight.

 _Arthur…?_ 005 scrunched his face in confusion. _They named it?_

That was when Argo appeared. The silver-haired executive smirked and ran a hand through his hair. Everyone stopped and turned towards him, and Dew landed next to 005. Squirt and Kiddo stood behind the mutts, as there was no room for them to stand next to them. Joan ran up with Steel and Pony by her side.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? An escape?" Argo said silkily, drawing a Pokéball from his signature cream blazer's pocket. He pressed the button, and it expanded.

"Listen, buddy. We're getting out that damn door one way or another. It can be the easy way, or the 'we kick your ass' way." Kadabra hissed, taking a step forward. Argo smirked and tossed out the Pokéball. It revealed his ghostly Arcanine, which loomed over the group as there was barely any room between them and the grunts.

"You chose ass. Of course." The psychic's wings buzzed and he reared back his blade. Dew and Squirt shot jet of water at the dog, and Steel shot an Aura Sphere at him. 005 improvised and ran forward, his claws expanding and gleaming as he scratched the Arcanine with a Metal Claw. The poor dog was out instantly.

Argo frowned and withdrew it. 005 walked up to the executive, shoved past the grunts, and pointed his Metal Claws up at the executive with a fierce glare. The grunts stepped back with fear on their faces.

"Take us to our friend." The Charmeleon growled. Argo returned his glare with a lazy smile.

"He's not here."

"What!? Team, detain the grunts. Put them in their own cells. I got a little _negotiating_ to do." The Charmeleon hissed and pressed his claws into Argo's chest. The executive still looked unconcerned.

"Are there any more grunts?" 005 asked. Argo shook his head.

"I didn't expect you to escape. All of our scientists are gone with your buddy."

"Where?" 005 hissed. Argo maintained silence. 005 wrenched the executive into a sitting position and wrapped his claws around Argo's throat. The Charmeleon felt the executive gulp nervously, but he still stayed silent and kept his lazy smirk.

"Wrong answer! Tell me!" 005 tightened his grip.

"I fear Giovanni more than you." Argo rasped. 005 curled his lip in disgust, then turned his head and shot flames at Argo's leg. His suit instantly caught on fire. The executive grunted in pain, and the smell of burning flesh filled the air.

"005! Stop!" Dew cried in horror. 005 held out his hand, motioning for her to stop.

"Just a moment. Either tell us, or get an early cremation. Your choice." 005 growled. Argo moaned, then shrieked in pain as the fire burned its way through his flesh and up his leg.

"Hoenn! Hoenn! Lavaridge Town!" He finally screamed. Dew rushed forward and gently breathed water on the executive's leg.

"Let's go. Leave this bastard here." 005 grunted, releasing the executive and trudging up the stairs with a steely glare.

Dew started up at 005 in shock and sorrow. She turned her head and saw Joan echoing her gaze.

Kadabra was the first to follow, his expression unreadable.

The rest of the team followed, ignoring the badly burnt executive lying in misery on the floor.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **I will try and fit all of the OC submissions in as cameos. Peace.**


	10. Chapter 8: No More

**Chapter Eight: No More**

005 stomped through the halls, trying to find his way through the maze so he could escape Team Rocket's base.

Suddenly he felt a paw wrap around his arm, and he was jerked to a halt. He turned furiously to find a very pissed-off Dew glaring at him.

"What was _that?"_ The Dewott shrieked. 005 yanked his arm out of her grip and glared.

"What?"

"You had _no reason_ to hurt Argo like that!" She growled.

" _Yes_ I _did._ He did awful things to us and a whole lot of other Pokémon. He _deserved_ to burn." 005 snarled, turning away from the Dewott.

"How can you say that. _How_ can _you_ say that!?" Dew growled. 005 felt a sharp pain in his back and he was knocked flat on his face. Dew grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, flipped him around, and shoved him into the wall, glaring into his icy blue eyes with her red ones.

"He wouldn't _tell_ us if I hadn't hurt him! He was a _bastard!_ I was looking out for Ember, looking out for my team!" 005 scowled.

"No more. You will never do that again. By torturing him you made us no better than he was! _No more._ Promise me." Dew pleaded. 005's glare faded for a second, but he soon replaced it with a steely gaze. He wrenched Dew's arms off him with ease and stalked away from her, lashing his thin tail.

"I won't promise anything. I'll do what needs to be done." He muttered.

Dew, Kadabra, Joan, her Pokémon, and Steel all looked at him in shock. The Charmeleon stopped suddenly, realizing that he wasn't being followed.

"Well? Are you with me? Or are you gonna be cowards?" 005 hissed. They reluctantly followed him.

"Um…005? Wh-what about my Pokémon? They need their Pokéballs…but I don't know where my bag is!" Joan said, sounding timid.

005 rubbed his mask and gave a stressed sigh.

"Search the rooms. Find it. Meet me back here." He grunted, Joan nodded and scurried away, followed by the rest of the mutants and her Pokémon.

 _They have no right to judge me…I got the info…didn't I?_ 005 thought to himself, leaning against a wall. He looked down at his five-fingered hands. He sighed again. _Maybe that's all I am…maybe I'm nothing more than a heartless beast…maybe I'll never be anything more than…than a monster._ The Charmeleon took a shaky breath and sunk to the floor. He covered his masked face with his hands and gave a dry sob.

He brooded for several more minutes before he heard footsteps coming from a hall. He opened his eyes and stood, keeping his expression carefully neutral.

"I…um…I found it." Joan held up her bag. Her Pokémon were stored in their Pokéballs and clipped safely to her belt, and the mutants were behind Joan. For the first time, 005 took a long look at them all.

Then he saw Steel. His jaw dropped.

"S…Steel…what?" The Charmeleon inhaled deeply. The Lucario looked at him with his eerie solid red eyes.

"They experimented on him more." Dew grunted, her face unreadable. 005 swallowed hard.

"I'm…I'm sorry. I'm sorry to all of you I just…I just…I need to fix this! It's all my fault…" 005 choked, holding back tears. "We have to find Ember. I don't know about you, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to find him. You in?"

"You bastard, of course we're frickin' in. What the hell else would we do?" Kadabra said, arms folded.

Dew looked at him with hope in her deep red eyes, "Silly moron. I'm with ya all the way."

"I'm in this deep." Joan smiled. Steel nodded, his unsettling gaze boring into 005. The Charmeleon shuddered; the new Steel was creepy.

"Great. Let's get the hell outta here before Argo recovers." 005 said, restraining a relieved smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He wheeled about and began to walk through the halls. He heard the reassuring sound of footsteps behind him.

* * *

Joan emerged from the bitter cold of the ice path to the sight of a red and orange sunset. She wheeled her bag around and pulled out her Pokégear before turning it on. It had low battery, but it told her that she had five missed messages, ten missed texts, and it also told her that it was six thirty _a.m._ So the sun was actually rising.

Joan was, needless to say, exhausted. She had been off the clock for the past four days, really, and she had _not_ gotten her required eight hours.

"Let's go." 005 muttered. Kadabra picked up the Charmeleon in his psychic field, and Joan, per the norm, rose astride Dew.

Steel's flight, however, warranted another surprise. Instead of the usual air distortion that came from his bionic legs during his flight, there were full-on flames coming out.

"Woah there, bub. Careful which way you aim those things." Kadabra took to the air. With a few flaps from her dark gray wings, Dew was also in the air. Steel shrugged and his face twitched, like he was trying to make some kind of facial expression.

Without eyelids or eyebrows it was hard to tell.

Joan was so angry at Team Rocket she could barely contain it. Steel was already mute, but now he couldn't even communicate with body language! Not only that…but his eyes were just so… _unsettling._ His one bionic eye had been creepy enough, but now the two solid red, glowing orbs protruding from his face looked like something out of a horror movie.

Now he was completely unreadable. Aside from shrugs, and his mouth, Steel had no way to communicate.

It made Joan sick.

 _"It'll take a few hours before we reach Hoenn. Get comfortable."_ Kadabra's voice echoed through Joan's brain.

Joan had an idea.

 _"Kadabra."_ She thought, trying to project her thoughts.

 _"Woah, kid, stop yelling!"_ Was the psychic's reply.

 _"Could you link me with Steel?"_ She thought,

 _"Yeah…but I'd be hearing everything you two are saying. Steel…well…his brain is different. Um…well…prepare yourself. I'll set up the link."_ Kadabra replied. Joan nodded and closed her eyes. Then she felt her brain become connected with another brain.

She resisted the urge to retch.

Steel's brain was indescribably horrible. It was the breeding cesspit for all things insane. In it, two very different forces were constantly at battle, fighting over Steel's very life, very soul, very will.

One voice was emotionless. Literally derived of emotion, it pushed back the consciousness of the true Steel and tried to take the Lucario over. It was strangely seductive in its emotionless drone, it offered a state of being that lacked rage, pain, sorrow.

The other consciousness was the true Steel's, a consciousness torn and bitter and angry, a consciousness that knew it was a monster. A consciousness that was weighed with complete and utter horror at its own body's monstrosity, and filled with a profound sorrow that it could never be normal, never be sane, never be at peace.

Joan withdrew without thinking a word. She covered her mouth in absolute horror and found that she was weeping heavily.

She knew that she had just seen the raw essence, the aura, that made up Steel, and she suddenly understood the Lucario at a far more profound level than she ever wanted to understand him.

 _"Oh. My. Arceus."_ Kadabra thought to Joan. The psychic radiated intense levels of distress that only made Joan more emotionally unstable.

 _"What the…what the…what was…what was that?"_ Joan thought, again resisting the urge to retch.

 _"It was never…never that bad…the new bionic implants…they…oh Arceus I'm…"_ Kadabra's thoughts became incomprehensible, random scatterings of half-formed ideas and words that made no sense to Joan. The psychic's presence left, leaving Joan alone with her emotions.

If Steel knew that Kadabra and Joan had been in his screwed up mind, then he did not outwardly show it. He flew on, his eerie gaze locked emotionless on the horizon, but Joan knew that beneath that bionic shell a battle was raging, a battle far worse than any physical combat anyone, Pokémon or human, should have to endure.

* * *

Joan was grateful for the several hour-long ride of silence. She and Kadabra occasionally exchanged glances, but the psychic's face was strangely twisted, and Kadabra had an insane glint in his eye that Joan had never seen before.

She was still scarred by her vision. She couldn't even imagine what she would do if what had happened to Steel had happened to her…to be twisted into an ugly psychotic beast against her will and be fully aware of what she'd become. Joan shuddered.

She then realized she now knew what each and every mutation was going through. The horrible treatments and experiments that caused them to question their existence, to hate themselves, to have no purpose in life. The very though was nauseating. Joan couldn't imagine actually living that kind of life. This glimpse also strengthened her resolve, however. It made her more determined to help these mutants, and to stop any more from being made.

 _"Land."_ Kadabra broadcasted, pointing ahead with his scythe. Indeed, in the distance, was a blue-green blob sticking out of the surface of the waves. It grew close by the minutes until the mutants were able to land, exhausted, on its edge.

Joan climbed off of Dew and thanked her for the ride. The human stretched her legs and arms, then caught sight of Steel staring at her with his head cocked.

 _He knows._ Joan realized. She gulped, trying to ignore the gaze. For some insane reason, she was feeling paranoid that the Lucario was going to attack her and kill her.

That was ridiculous, she knew. Even if he did attack, the other mutations would save her, right?

She was wondering now if every one of them suffered from Steel's condition. What if they all had demons in them too? What if they all attacked her?

Instinctively Joan put her hand on one of the Pokéballs on her belt. For the first time, she was actually afraid of the powerful Pokémon before her. She bordered on the edge of panic.

Dew shot her an odd look, concern in her ruby red eyes.

"Joan? You okay?" The Dewott asked. Joan tried to slow her breathing and she gave a half-hearted nod.

"Yeah, just feeling a little queasy from the flight. That's all." She lied. Dew shot her another concerned glance. 005 stood to his feet and cast his gaze towards Joan, intensity burning beneath his Monferno mask.

"Get out the map." He ordered. Joan nodded quickly and fumbled with her backpack before whipping out the master map of all the regions. The Charmeleon studied the map carefully.

Even 005, nice, loyal 005 was frightening her. The way the Charmeleon had treated Argo was…terrifying. Joan tried to ignore her irrational panic.

The one Pokémon here that Joan felt totally secure with was Dew. Dew, the sweet, compassionate, self-sacrificing Dewott who had probably saved Joan's life.

Joan subtly stepped closer to the Dewott.

"Okay, so we landed on the North side of the island. If we go slightly West and South we'll reach Lavaridge in an hour or two. I know you're all tired, but we have to press on! We have to save Ember!" 005 snarled. Joan barely stopped herself from taking a step back. Terror clawed at her chest, and her heart beat rapidly.

Dew got down on all fours and Joan mounted the Dewott shakily.

 _What the hell is wrong with me? Am I going crazy? These mutants…they're my friends, my partners! They'll never hurt me. Not ever. Will they? Arceus dammit, Joan! Get a frickin' grip!_ Joan thought. She shut her eyes and forced herself to take deep calming breaths. She leaned forward and buried her face in Dew's velvety fur, trying to force back the choked sobs rising in her throat.

They it hit her. She understood why she was so creeped out, so _nauseated,_ in an instant.

 _I think I finally understand…I understand what I've gotten into. And I need to toughen up. If I can't trust these five Pokémon…I can't trust anyone. I need to be strong. I can make a difference here. Not just for dozens of innocent Pokémon…but for the whole world!_ Joan steeled herself, took another deep breath, and felt at peace. She wiped her eyes dry and pulled out her Pokégear.

She listened to her five voicemail messages. Three from her parents, two from Miles. All of the texts were from Miles.

The voicemail messages were mostly just her family and friend begging her to call back, and the texts were from Miles stating that he was in Vermillion City, and that he beat the gym, and so on.

Joan dialed her parent's number. She held the Pokégear up to her ear.

"Joan? Is that you?" The deep voice of her father echoed through the speaker. It was all Joan could do to prevent herself from breaking out into tears again.

"Dad? Yeah, its me. Sorry." She said.

"Oh my _Arceus!_ Its been _weeks_ since you called! One little phone call so I know my baby's all right…that's all I need! I'm so glad to hear your voice…you had us worried sick!" Her father broke out into his standard lecture. Despite his angry tone, Joan smiled.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I've been busy…training. Also, Kiddo evolved." Joan offered the feeble explanation. Kiddo had actually been her first Pokémon. Her father was a retired Gogoat racer from Kalos that bred Gogoat's, he used the female for Gogoat milk, which was very popular and nutritious, and he usually sold the male Skiddo's for extra money. He had given Kiddo to Joan right before she received Squirt from Professor Oak.

"Congratulations! That's amazing sweetheart! Oh, you're mom is here. She's dying to talk to you." Dad said. There was a brief pause before Joan's mom's voice blasted across the speakers.

" _Joan oh my gosh you had me worried sick we called you three times and you didn't answer what was I supposed to think you could have been at the bottom of a ditch or worse and I wouldn't have known next time I'm going to call the damn police you stupid silly child!_ I'm so glad you're okay." Joan's ears rang so badly from her mother's original outburst that she almost missed the last statement of love.

"I'm sorry." Was all Joan said.

She talked with her parents for a few more minutes, then she said her goodbyes and hung up. She hesitantly viewed Myles' number in her Pokégear, then just turned the device off. She didn't want to explain herself to Myles.

Joan sat in silence for the rest of the flight. The entire team was on edge, and all of them had one very clear goal in mind; retrieve Ember at all costs.

There was no talk about tiny details like _how_ yet. They all just wanted to see the timid Luxray back in the safety of his team. Joan hadn't allowed herself to think about what Team Rocket could be doing to the poor Luxray. They could be making him into an even worse monster than Kadabra or Steel. They could be ruining his mind for all eternity.

Or they could be running some simple tests.

After about two hours of flying, the team finally landed right near Lavaridge Town.

"We have to find where that base is!" 005 said as Kadabra let the Charmeleon out of his psychic field.

"You guys stay here." Joan whispered, "I'll snoop around and see if I can't find anything."

Joan walked out of the underbrush and into the city, blending in with a crowd of people. She meandered through the streets of the small town aimlessly, wondering how exactly she was going find the base, when suddenly she saw a burly man dressed in a black uniform. It was one of the same grunts from The base in the Ice Path. Joan shoved her way through some people and followed the grunt.

The grunt took a roundabout way through the streets, then finally came to a halt in front of the famous Hot Springs building. The grunt entered. Joan followed behind him.

The grunt joined the line at the front desk, tapping his foot and shifting his gaze impatiently. When he arrived first in line, he leaned forward and whispered a phrase that Joan could barely make out.

"When the dark moon is full, the Mightyena howls farewell." The man at the desk nodded and opened a door next to him, admitting the guard, who stepped into a door behind the clerk.

"He's just a late employee." The clerk said with a fake smile. Joan nodded,

"Oh shoot, it's that late already?" Joan fake cursed, looking at a clock above the clerk. "I have to be at a battle in half an hour! Shoot. I'll come back later." Joan fake smiled back at the clerk and backed out of the building.

They knew where the base was now. All they needed was a plan.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Oh…dark scary chapter about Steel…**

 **Yeah. Steel is very very messed up.**

 **This fic is going to get darker…. Just a fair warning.  
**

 **Anyway, thanks, as always, for reading, and thanks to everyone who's review, followed, or favorited!**

 **Ciao!**


	11. Chapter 9: Invasion

**Chapter Nine: Invasion**

After Joan explained her findings to the team, 005 instantly turned his back and started muttering to himself. His team looked at him in concern. They had never seen the Charmeleon so worked up before, and it was scaring all of them. Joan understood he was just stressed, but it didn't make it any less frightening.

"Alright. I have a plan." The Charmeleon said triumphantly, whirling around to face his team. Leaning in close, his whispered his idea.

* * *

A female dressed in black approached the Hot Springs building, her gaze flicking around the area suspiciously. She was just about to enter the building, when a Lucario with bionic parts stepped out from the building and hit her squarely in her face, knocking her out instantly. Her body began to float around the building and into the shadows behind it.

005 cheered triumphantly. Now for the awkward part.

* * *

Long story short, Joan was now dressed in the grunt's black outfit. 005 looked over the human and nodded. He rubbed his hands together, a dangerous gleam in his eye,

 _That damn Team Rocket. They'll pay for taking my teammate!_ He thought with a smirk.

"Withdraw us, human. We have to get in there and save Ember!" 005 snarled. Joan looked slightly afraid as she pulled out his Pokéball first.

005's plan of infiltration was working perfectly. Everyone but Steel would enter the base, Steel would guard the grunt. They would use Joan's new costume to go around, unnoticed, until they found Ember. Then they would knock out anyone in the Luxray's vicinity, free him, and exit. Joan put her own Pokémon into her pocket and clipped Dew, 005, and Kadabra onto her belt. 005 could see perfectly as Joan rounded the building and entered the deserted Hot Springs lobby. She walked up to the clerk and whispered,

"When the dark moon is full, the Mightyena howls farewell." The clerk nodded and opened the door in the desk, allowing Joan to enter the door behind the clerk.

In the back of the room was another door, marked 'Members Only'. Next to the door was a scanner, above the scanner read, 'Scan Your Key Card Here'.

For a minute Joan looked panicked. She searched the pockets of her black pants frantically, then sighed as she pulled out a small black card. She pressed it to the scanner, and the door swung open.

 _We're in. Yes._ 005 smirked. _They'll_ burn _for what they did!_

He inhaled sharply as Joan walked up into yet another maze of pure white halls and door. She pressed a Pokéball on her belt and released Kadabra, then 005, then Dew.

"Okay, Kadabra, can you sense Ember?" Joan asked. The psychic shut his eyes. His wings twitched slightly.

"Yes…I can…his mind is…it's…huh. I can't describe it. It's definitely Ember, though. I can sense life in this place." Kadabra nodded.

"Also, there's two scientists around him, a large amount of grunts in a room way down the center hall path…and some mutants patrolling the halls, and one of them is right…there." Kadabra sighed and pointed to the left.

Standing was a very surprised-looking Raichu mutt. Instead of being yellow, though, she was an indigo color with a red belly and red markings where she used to have tan and brown. Her cheeks were still a vivid yellow, and so was the lightning bolt on her tail. Her arms were longer than a normal Raichu's, and out of her back protruded a fin. Her arms also contained fins. Two curved fangs sprang from her lips, and spikes protruded from her knees. On her left arm was the brand, Ex. 026-08

 **"What the hell?"** She gasped. **"Hey, I know you guys! They told us about you! You're the originals, right?"**

005 was just about to knock her out when she spoke again.

 **"Hey, wait! What're you guys doing here?"** She bounced up and down, **"You guys trying to find that Luxray? I know where he is! I can show you!"**

"You mean…you aren't going to raise the alarm?" The Charmeleon cocked his head in confusion.

 **"Arceus, no. The only reason I follow Team Rocket's orders is because I have nothing better to do, nowhere to go. Who wants a mutt like me?"** The Raichu mutt cocked her head. 005 narrowed his eyes. Then he plastered a smile on his face and walked up to her nicely. She smiled and turned, but before she walked away completely 005's hand lit up and he punched her hard in the back of her skull. She slumped forward in a dead faint.

"005! She was going to _help_ us!" Dew hissed. 005 kicked the Raichu into a corner and huffed.

"She can't be trusted." He growled. "Come here, _wingy,_ and lead the way." The Kadabra growled, his wings buzzing. The Kadabra buzzed off the ground and buzzed down the short leftward corridor before turning to the right.

Dew approached the Raichu and whispered, "Sorry, I'm so sorry," before she followed the Kadabra. 005 scowled and followed the psychic.

Kadabra buzzed down the long hall and took another left, right, left, left, and finally went straight until they reached a long hallway, where they met their first human guard.

005 cursed and dashed forward. The grunt fumbled with a Pokéball but the Charmeleon leaped into the air and hit the grunt on the head.

He slumped to the floor, but so did the Pokéball. From it burst a really unusual mutt, a Shinx with a weird, beak-like mouth and a hefty gray shell on her back.

The Shinx roared and wheeled about.

005 cursed. His fist glowed orange with a Brick Break, and he punched the hybrid's shell. The Shinx flew forward and crash-landed into Dew. Highly unfortunate, and the shell crackled with electricity and zapped the Dewott nearly senseless. The Shinx then leaped off of Dew and onto the floor in front of her. The little cat-turtle let out a garbled roar.

Kadabra's star glowed blue, and a multi-colored beam of energy knocked into the side of the Shinx's head and sent her flying into the wall, where she collapsed in a crumpled heap. Dew recovered, pulled out her scalchops, and slashed the Shinx, sending it flying back to 005, who stopped it with a punch.

Lightning zipped up the Charmeleon's arm as his fist made contact, but he ignored the pain. The Shinx fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Poor thing never stood a chance." Joan commented.

 _No. Not three against one._ 005 agreed. He shoved open the door the grunt was guarding. Inside was Ember.

Or, something that resembled Ember.

It was indeed the Luxray, but he was standing on a platform connected to countless wires which, in turn, were connected to countless machines surrounded the edge of the room. Ember was also inside a suit of 'armor', with a helmet similar to a welding helmet and braces on his forearms and hind legs and a large piece on his back that wrapped around his stomach.

Behind the glass of the 'welding helmet' glowed two burning red eyes. The Luxray thrashed, but the wires holding him in place along with a few handcuff-like things on the platform that had his paws locked down.

He was discharging massive amounts of fire and electricity, but these were conducted into the wires and armor. There were two scientists in the room, but they were too preoccupied with the machines to notice the three mutts and Joan staring in awe at Ember.

"Amazing. He's generating enough energy to power out entire base! Think of what we can do with more of him…more _stable_ variations of him…" One scientist said. Then he turned.

005 lunged forward and swept the scientists legs out from under him. Dew subdued the other one and head-butted him ferociously, knocking him out. 005 kicked the scientist he had felled in the head, knocking him out as well.

The team turned their gaze to Ember. Nobody moved.

"Ember?" Dew finally said. The Luxray stopped thrashing. He turned to the Dewott slowly; the movement was almost creepy.

"I am not _Ember."_ The voice spat. 005 inhaled sharply. Then the Luxray thrashed more. " _Argh!_ Get out of my mind you Arceus-damned Kadabra!" He shrieked. The Charmeleon looked at the psychic breathlessly.

"That's what I sensed…it _is_ Ember, but at the same time…it's _not._ It's a different personality." Kadabra frowned.

"Give us back Ember!" 005 growled. The Luxray turned to the Charmeleon, tail thrashing.

" _No._ I am _powerful_ this way. And confident. And smarter, and bolder. I like it." Although he couldn't see the Luxray's mouth, 005 was sure that he was smiling.

"Wait…you're saying you can actually control the power?" Joan asked. The Luxray nodded, his red eyes glinting.

"That's right, sunshine~! The power of fire and electricity…I can handle it. Your pathetic _Ember_ cannot." The Luxray said.

"Will you help us? Or are you going to destroy us?" 005 asked. The Luxray shrugged.

"I'll help you. I _detest_ Team Rocket. I have no love for you, either, but the weakling does." 005 squinted, unsure whether to trust him or not.

"I don't trust this Arceus-damned bastard, but he's telling the truth." Kadabra said, glaring at the Luxray.

"I believe him." Said Dew, and Joan nodded in agreement.

"Can you stop pumping electricity and fire for a moment?" 005 requested. The Luxray nodded slowly, and the constant stream of energy running through the wires stopped.

005 leaped onto the platform and removed the welding helmet thing, then the braces, all the while ripping wires off of the Luxray's body. He reached for another wire, and a jolt of burning electricity zapped through him. He instantly let go of the wire and glared at the Luxray, who made a face of faux innocence.

"Oops." He chuckled. 005 sighed in exasperation and ripped more armor and wires off of the Luxray until there were no more on him.

A blast of fire and electricity channeled through the Luxray's legs, freeing him from the handcuff-lock things.

The Luxray leapt down from the platform and surveyed the four people standing around him. For a moment he looked almost hostile, and then he sat down and began to groom himself.

"What is this?" 005 hissed. The Luxray stopped and glared at him with his glowing eyes.

"I've been trapped up there all day with barely any food or water. Gimme a break, tight-wad. Arceus." The Luxray began licking his back.

005 stepped back in shock. This was _not_ what he was expecting when he came into the base. Obviously Team Rocket had performed lots of experiments on poor Ember…enough to create this new identity. This weird, cocky, confident, bastardized form of the loveable, yet timid, Luxray. 005 sighed and face-palmed. Suddenly an alarm blared throughout the base. 005 turned to see a barely conscious scientist with his hand on a bid red button.

"Why you-!" The Charmeleon cursed.

"Save it! We have to leave!" Dew shouted, bolting out the door with Kadabra and Joan close behind her. 005 nodded and ran.

"Come on, fat cat!" He yelled at the Luxray. The Luxray glared at him, then slowly got to his paws and trotted after him.

"Faster!" 005 hissed.

"I don't want to get all sweaty. It ruins my perfect complexion." The Luxray replied. 005 looked up at the lion in exasperation, but slowed himself to keep pace with him

Joan, Dew, and Kadabra quickly realized that they weren't being followed, so they doubled-back for their comrades, who were moving in a steady jog.

"Come _on!"_ Joan hissed, coming to a jog next to the huge cat. The cat gave her a placid stare and yawned again.

"Don't want to." He said. Joan glared at him.

The sound of footsteps came from around the corner. The group came to a halt, 005 growled and got on all fours. _Damn!_ He thought.

Four grunts rounded the corner, each with their own genetic mutts. One of them was a very familiar, very pissed-off, indigo Raichu. The others were a Meowstic with an Absol horn and tail, the red Machop from the previous fight, and a Sneasel with a purple haze surrounding her.

 _Goddamn!_ 005 hissed. Six more grunts joined the first four, though these had normal Pokémon. Among the normal Pokémon were three Raticates, an Absol, two Seviper, a Zangoose, and a normal Arcanine. _God_ damn. 005 cursed again.

There were several flashes of light as Joan's Pokémon burst from their Pokéballs.

Before the two groups engaged, 005 wheeled about and whispered quietly his plan.

"Guys. Stay in a line, use only elemental attacks. We don't use melee unless we half to. Ready? Joan get behind us." Joan got behind the line of Pokémon. 005 stood in the middle, with Dew and Kadabra on either side, and Joan Pokémon on either side of them. Ember also hung back, but 005 was too focused on the dozen Pokémon in front of him to argue with the lazy incarnation of Ember.

" _Fire!"_ 005 hissed, opening his maw and breathing a huge stream of flame forward. His flame was aided by more flames from Pony, a beam of psychic energy from Kadabra, water from Dew and Squirt, and Razor Leaves from Kiddo.

The enemy's Pokémon were hit by the constant blasts, but they surged forward despite the blasts. All the Raticates but one were knocked out. Finally the Arcanine, who was headed straight into 005's flames, hit the Charmeleon with a powerful Take Down.

"Joan get back! Break the line! Fight with everything you've got! We can never be captured!" 005 hissed, recovered from the Take Down and standing to meet his shaggy foe the Arcanine's maw lit up with flame, and the dog rushed at 005. The Charmeleon took a mighty leap into the air, did an about face, and landed on the Arcanine's back.

The dog reared and bucked, but 005 sat down on his back and buried his claws in the Arcanine's scruff. The dog tried his best to shake him off, but 005 held on.

"Why fight me? Join me, brother of fire." 005 whispered into the mighty dog's ear. The dog calmed a bit and paced, ears flicking.

 **"I obey my master."** He growled.

"Is your master kind? Does he love you and respect you? I know your kind. You are loyal…be loyal to someone else. I don't want to hurt you. Join us. We will care for you." 005 whispered again. The dog stopped completely.

 **"Love? Love…me…I knew love…once…but…my master…"** The Arcanine sighed. 005 smiled. _Perhaps I have a new rec—_

Suddenly a powerful force slammed into 005's side and knocked him off the Arcanine's back. 005 landed hard on the ground, is vision blurred. A sharp pain hit him again, sending him crashing into the hall's wall.

Then something was standing over him, pressing a sharp blade into his jugular. A speck of blood ran down the Charmeleon's neck. A fierce Absol pressed her paws over the Charmeleon's arms, holding him in place.

 **"You. You are dead."** The Absol hissed. The blade sank deeper. 005 braced himself. His entire team were busy fighting the other Pokémon, no one even saw 005's life being cut away,

The Charmeleon squeezed his eyes shut, giving up all hope.

 _I go to peace._ He thought. Then the blade disappeared. The Charmeleon's eyes snapped open and he looked around, searching for his savior. He saw the Arcanine standing over the Absol, a snarl on his canine face.

 **"Leave. Him. Alone."** The Arcanine growled.

 **"Traitor! You betray your masters! You're supposed to be on _my_ side!" **The Absol reared up, slashing her head across the Absol's chest. The Arcanine stumbled back, chest bleeding heavily.

005 forced himself to his feet and leaned against the wall. Blood streamed from his throat, down his stomach, and to the floor, forming a puddle at his feet.

005 looked all around for help, but nobody looked his way. Nobody was even there. Joan was commanding her Pokémon as they fought against the Seviper, Raticate, and Meowstic, while Dew was fencing the Sneasel with her Scalchops. Kadabra was somehow fending off both the Zangoose and Machop. Strangely, the Raichu seemed to not be fighting. She was in the middle of the battle, but making not a move.

The Arcanine roared in pain as the Absol sliced his shoulder. He breathed a stream of flames at the Absol, but she was too quick for them.

005 stumbled forward and fell in his own blood. He again searched desperately for help. Then he saw it. To his left, the Luxray was lazily watching the battle with his crimson eyes, his flaming tail flicking.

"Ember…help." 005 called weakly. His vision was fading from blood loss, and it was difficult for him to breathe. The Luxray looked at 005 sharply, his lazy expression fading to one of annoyance.

"Ugh…" Then his face twisted. His eyes glimmered yellow for a second, then faded back to red. "Oh fine, you irritating coward. But _I am not Ember!"_

The lion stood. His gaze seemed to glow brighter. He turned his gaze to the Absol, fire and electricity swirling around his legs. The powerful blast shot forward, zapping the Absol ferociously and scorching her snow-white fur. The disaster Pokémon fell to the floor in a smoking heap.

The Luxray turned his gaze to the rest of the battle, and gave a loud, growl-like cry. Everyone stopped and stared as more electricity and fire swirled around the lion's body.

"STOP!" The Luxray cried. "YOU WILL HEED." His voice was strangely distorted, as if several voices were speaking at once. The Rocket grunts backed up in shock, but Dew stepped forward with hope glimmering in her ruby eyes.

"Ember!" She said. The Luxray snarled.

"I AM NOT EMBER!" 005's vision was getting dimmer. The last thing he managed to hear was,

"I AM PHOENIX!" Before his world went black.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Oh yes. Yes I did. Did what, you ask?**

 **I KILLED 005!**

 **…just kidding. I did make Ember a sort of anti-hero though. A lazy, arrogant, snobbish anti-hero.**

 **We'll just see how this progresses.**

 **To be honest, I didn't know I was going to do this until the middle of the last chapter. 0.o**

 **Also, I will be gone all of next week, so this is the last update for a while.**

 **Thanks, as always, for faving/following/reviewing/reading!**


	12. Chapter 10: Mt Chimney

**Chapter Ten: Mt. Chimney**

Joan looked at the sleeping Charmeleon with worry. 005 had been wounded very badly in the battle, his wound was almost deep enough to split through his jugular. The wound had finally stopped bleeding after Joan had slathered an entire Hyper Potion on it, but 005's breathing was raspy and his sleep fitful. Dew kept vigil over him, with Ember by her side. The _normal_ Ember. The wounded Arcanine stood in the corner of the small cave, licking his own wounds. Kadabra and Steel were sleeping. Joan leaned against the pit's wall, resting.

The battle had been over in moments the second 'Phoenix' helped. They had escaped to Mt. Chimney of all places, and now they were in a cave at its peak. Hiding like Buneary.

Joan turned her gaze to the wounded Arcanine, surveying the Pokémon wearily.

According to Ember, the canine had saved 005's life. Joan was a little wary of it, though. Arcanine were supposed to be incredibly loyal to their masters, it seemed odd that he would suddenly save 005 like that. Joan supposed that when the Charmeleon woke up he could tell the team themselves whether the new recruit was to be trusted or not.

Unfortunately, the Arcanine's Pokéball was with his old trainer, but Joan had withdrawn Ember and 005 so that Steel could carry the Arcanine. The Lucario had enormous strength, he had made the six-foot tall dog look like a stuffed animal.

The Arcanine stopped and sniffed, then turned his head to Joan. He regarded her with deep brown eyes. Joan grabbed her backpack, which was lying next to her, and rifled through it. She finally found a half-filled normal potion; her last one. She hesitated, then stood and cautiously approached the big dog.

"Do you want me to heal you?" She held up the potion. The Arcanine nodded slowly.

Joan stepped forward and restrained a gasp. The Arcanine was heavily wounded. He had a long gash from his left shoulder down to his right foreleg. He had another gash on his right shoulder, and another down his left foreleg. Joan walked all around the dog, and found one more long cut down his left flank.

"Oh…I'm sorry. I don't have enough to heal you completely, but I can help the process along." The dog regarded her again, then nodded.

Joan stepped forward and held the potion to the dog's battered chest. "This is going to sting." She warned before spraying the potion all along the gash. The Arcanine flinched slightly. Joan finished spraying the wound, then she sprayed the wound on his right shoulder, for that one was the second worst. She barely had enough to finish spraying the cut on his left foreleg.

"There, is that better?" Joan asked. The Arcanine looked at her with a strange look, one a mixture of surprise, wonder, and gratitude. He nodded again.

"He's awake!" Dew called. Joan looked over at the group of three mutts in the middle and ran over. Steel and Kadabra awoke to the sound of Dew's call and stumbled forward groggily. The Arcanine came to stand behind Joan.

The group of six watched as the Charmeleon's head perked up. He looked around with his eyes half-closed, then pushed himself into a sitting position, groaning and rubbing his head.

"Oh Arceus…" His voice was raspy and faint. "My throat…" He rose his hand towards his throat, but Dew grabbed it.

"Don't touch." She warned. 005 sighed and yanked his arm away.

"Fine." He croaked. He surveyed the group staring at him, and then his gaze rested on the Arcanine. He got to his feet with visible effort and stumbled towards the dog. Joan and Ember stepped out of the way. 005 stopped in front of him and looked up into the dog's deep brown eyes.

"You saved me…thank you…" The Charmeleon stepped forward and hugged the Arcanine gently, then stepped back.

 _He's so kind to him…I've never seen such tenderness from him…_ Joan thought. _I guess he's trying to make the Arcanine feel welcome. The poor creature must have endured such hardship under Team Rocket…how could I have doubted his loyalty?_

The Arcanine made a gentle growling noise.

"What is your name, friend?" 005 rasped. The Arcanine made a low woof.

"Uh-huh. Would you like a name? Joan is good at giving them." 005 pointed at Joan. Joan smiled and made a small wave at the Arcanine, who barked again.

"She healed you?" Dew smiled at Joan. Joan nodded sheepishly. The Arcanine nodded and barked again.

"He says he wants a name." Dew translated. 005 sat back down on the ground and coughed. Dew turned her gaze to him in concern but he waved her off.

"Just a little tired." He hissed. Joan considered the dog.

 _Um…already used Ember. Um…oh! I got it!_ She thought.

"Blast! How about Blast!?" Joan said, looking eagerly around at the group. The Arcanine shrugged and nodded. He grinned fiercely.

"Blast it is." Ember smiled.

"Well, that's fine and dandy, welcome to the team you overgrown mutt, now what the hell are we doing next!?" Kadabra scowled. Joan rolled her eyes at the angry psychic. 005 forced himself to his feet again, coughing.

"Ugh…my throat tickles…but it hurts when I cough!" 005 croaked. "Anyway…I think we should stay here for the night. I…I need more rest. The sun is almost set, and we're all exhausted. Tomorrow we fly back to Hoenn…however…Ember will need to travel in his Pokéball from now on." The Charmeleon turned his gaze expectantly on the lion, who shrunk down slightly, yellow eyes flashing.

"Yeah! I'm good with that!" The lion said. 005 nodded, relieved.

"Well…then…I guess goodnight." The Charmeleon stumbled over to the wall and curled into a ball.

The rest of the team found their own spots, but Joan joined Ember for a second, concerned.

"How are you feeling?" Joan asked the Luxray. He gave Joan a look of pure terror.

"I'm…I'm scared…Phoenix…ugh. He's terrifying." The lion shuddered. "What they did to me in that place…well…they forced me to use my powers. If I didn't…horrifying pain they inflicted on me. Eventually my fire grew so dominant it began to have thoughts. Thoughts of its own. It's like there are two forms in my body…the lightning form…yours truly, and the other calls itself the Phoenix. I can feel him in the back of my mind, brooding, wanting to be free…the same way I feel my fire running through my veins. He speaks to me even now. He says…he says he calls himself Phoenix because…out of the ashes of weakness…he rose to be strong." Ember looked down.

Joan rolled her eyes. "Stupid bastard, poetic, isn't he?" Ember gave her a half smile, then yawned and curled up.

"I'm tired. Goodnight Joan." Joan stood and let the Luxray. She walked back to where her bag was and used it as an uncomfortable pillow.

After tossing and turning for a while, she fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

005 jerked awake with an itchy, burning pain in his throat. He tried to scream, but all that came out was a quiet rasp. His throat burned with itching pain, and before he thought better of it he grabbed his throat and scratched. He brought his hand back, and it dripped with blood.

He forced himself to stop. He took deep, choking breaths. He felt something soft and warm press into his back. The Charmeleon turned around and found his face buried in white fur. He looked up, and saw Blast looking down at him kindly.

 **"I knew love once. You've led me into a better life, away from torture and back to love again Now, I help you live. _You_ are my new master." **The Arcanine rumbled.

005 took deep slow breath, trying to ignore the burning, horrid pain. His world faded to black, and he fell against Blast's furry chest.

* * *

The Charmeleon woke again to daylight. His throat still burned, and he found his face was still pressed into Blast's chest. 005 stumbled back and forced himself to his feet.

The Arcanine woke and stretched. **"Do you feel better?"** He asked. 005 looked in wonder at Blast and nodded, trying to reassure the Arcanine despite the fact that he felt even worse. His throat was on fire, and his entire body felt weak.

"Um…thanks." 005 winced. Talking hurt.

Joan woke next, she got to her feet and stretched. She walked over to 005 and Blast, then stopped and looked down in alarm.

A puddle of blood coated the floor. 005 instinctively reached up towards his neck, but stopped himself before he touched it.

"Oh my Arceus!" Joan cursed, her voice woke the rest of the mutants. 005 suddenly felt faint again, and he sat back down on the ground. The Charmeleon's vision flickered, and he felt very faint. Then Dew was there, cradling the fallen Pokémon in her arms.

"He's so pale!" She cried in alarm. Kadabra, Ember, and Steel ran over to him in dismay. Joan grabbed her bag and desperately searched through the contents.

"I have no medicine! Damn…wait! I need to go down the mountain and to the store. I need medicine!" Joan took out a Pokéball. Steel stood up. His feet widened and fire shot out of them, boosting him into the air.

"No…sorry Steel. If we have to fly outside of the city to avoid being seen…005 could die before we can make it back! No…Kiddo will take me more quickly." Before Joan tossed her Pokéball however, Blast stepped forward and gave a fierce growl.

"He says he can take you even faster." Dew translated quickly. Joan nodded and ran to the Arcanine and jumped onto his back. The Arcanine reared forward then sprang forward with tremendous speed, dashing out the pit's entrance.

The mountain was incredibly steep, with ledges few and far between, but Blast leaped to each one with large, graceful strides. Joan buried her hands in his soft cream fur and held on for dear life. Finally he reached the bottom of the mountain and dashed forward. Faster than lightning his ran clearing the ground in gigantic bounds. In a mere fifteen minutes he reached Lavaridge, and he slowed to a speedy trot, weaving between buildings and into the heart of the town.

Joan soon caught sight of the Pokémart, and she leaped off of Blast and ran into the Pokémart. She walked among the shelves hurriedly, searching for a Revive desperately. She finally found it, and she seized one off of the shelf, then found a Full Restore and seized that as well. As she ran to the cash register she glanced at the price tags with worry. _These will drain all of my money…but I have to do it._ She thought.

She grabbed her bag and pulled out her wallet. She slammed the items down on the counter and pulled out a wad of money and put that down as well.

"Keep the change!" She said as the cash register read her the price of the items.

She jumped back onto Blast and urged him forward. The Arcanine began running again with no sign of hesitation or exhaustion. If possible, the large canine ran even faster than before, an experience Joan could only relate flight to. Within fifteen minutes, despite the steep uphill climb, they were back into the cave.

Joan hopped off of Blast and ran to 005. The Charmeleon's four friends backed away from his broken body to give Joan some room and she brandished the Full Restore.

The Pokémon was barely breathing, his chest heaving with each raspy breath. His eyes were clenched shut, but he seemed barely conscious. He weakly coughed up a few drops of blood. Joan sprayed Full Restore all over his throat then pried him mouth opened and placed the Revive in his mouth.

"I know it hurts, but try and swallow it." Joan told 005. The Charmeleon nodded. After a few moments, he swallowed.

That was when he screamed in pain.

"Oh Arceus! Please! Oh Arceus! The pain! Let me _die!"_ He howled, his body convulsing.

Joan sprayed more Full Restore on his throat with shaky hands. The convulsing ceased.

So did his breathing.

"Oh Arceus! What do we do?" Joan wailed, tears forcing themselves out of her eyes. Ember dashed forward and pressed his paws onto the Charmeleon's still chest, surprising Joan with the serious, fearless expression on his face. Electricity swirled around his black paws and surged into 005's body. The Charmeleon's body convulsed again. More electricity swirled around the Luxray's paws and sprang into 005.

The Charmeleon's mouth fell open. Ember removed his paws. Joan covered her mouth in shock, sobbing heavily. Dew wrapped her arms and wings around Ember's foreleg, and Kadabra fell to his knees, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. Blast stared at the Charmeleon with utter shock on his canine face. Steel looked away, his expression completely unreadable.

Then, 005 took a deep raspy breath, then another, and slowly his pained, heaving, breaths faded to normal ones. Joan gave a great sigh of relief, and Dew withdrew her embrace from Ember. She looked up at the lion with slight embarrassment apparent on her face.

* * *

The team sat in silent vigil around the Charmeleon's body for the rest of the day, and took shifts during the night. Joan sprayed the wound every once in a while with her Full Restore, but after a few hours it ran out. All they could do was wait in fear and speak no words as they watched the Charmeleon in his fitful sleep. Joan and Blast left once more to get food with the remainder of Joan's money, but other than that nobody left the mountain.

Finally, halfway through the second day of waiting, the Charmeleon's eyes snapped open. His wound had completely scabbed over, and he had regained some color in his face.

"Hey." He said. His voice was more gravelly than it had been before, but less raspy and faint. He pushed himself into a sitting position.

"005!" Joan yelled in happiness, dashing forward and giving the Chameleon an awkward kneeling hug. Dew joined her, and Ember and Blast rushed forward as well. Kadabra remained

005 shoved them all off and laughed slightly, but it soon turned into a coughing fit. The Charmeleon wiped his mouth, smearing a few spots on blood on his arm.

"How do you feel?" Dew asked in concern. 005 sighed.

"Like crap, but not as bad as before. How long was I out?"

"A day and a half. You…you…terrified me…" Ember shuffled his red and black paws and looked down. The Arcanine gave a gentle whine. 005 smiled gratefully at the canine. Steel smiled down at 005, and Joan guessed by his expression that he was relived as well.

Kadabra stood, a scowl on his face. He folded his arms and walked over to 005. The Charmeleon frowned at the psychic and pushed himself to his feet. Kadabra's arms dropped to his side, and an expression of uncontrollable rage spread across his face.

" _You_ fricking _moron!_ Don't you ever, ever do that to me again! You son of a—"

"Stop!" Dew growled standing between Kadabra and 005. The psychic sniffed and turned away, but there was no mistaking the tears in his eyes.

"I'm alive. I'm alive and I don't plan on dying soon. I'm so sorry everyone…damned Absol." 005 chuckled slightly.

"What do we do now?" Ember asked. 005 coughed again.

"We stay here, and he _rests._ " Dew spoke firmly. 005 was too weak to argue. Blast shoved past Joan and wrapped his fluffy body around the Charmeleon, who collapsed into the dog's fur.

Joan sighed heavily, in relief and exhaustion.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Yay…I didn't kill 005! Woohoo! And guess what, I am accepting more OC's! This time it's a little different though. There is no limit, though I ask that each person submits a max of two. I will pick and choose favorites this time, and they'll all most likely just going to be brief cameos, unlike the earlier five, most of whom will be reoccurring. If you have already submitted, you may submit two more! Either PM me or review.**

 **Here's the form, I'm a bit more organized this time! *= Required**

 ***Name:**

 ***Gender:**

 **Experiment Number (# in the Pokedex followed by random TWO digit number):**

 ***Pokémon Fused:**

 ***Detailed Physical Description:**

 ***Personality:**

 ***Unusual Abilities:**

 **Other:**

 *****If you have previously submitted an OC, please send me their personality!*****

 **Also, I have some polls on my profile page, and it would be great if you checked 'em out! As always, thanks for following/faving/reading/reviewing! YOU ROCK!**


	13. Chapter 11: Chase

**Chapter 11: Chase**

005 woke. He stretched and rubbed his throat, which thanks to plenty of water, rest, and medicine was now almost totally healed. He pushed himself off of the ground and into a standing position. He rolled his shoulders and stretched his ape-like limbs before inhaling deeply. Breathing didn't hurt.

He smiled and sat back down, looking around at the rest of his team. They had been at this mountain-top for the past four days, and only Joan and Blast left for food. Other than that, they had just been relaxing and talking. 005 turned and looked at the sleeping Arcanine who had been protecting the Charmeleon for the past four days. The huge dog was sleeping on his side and taking deep breaths as he slept. He was much older than 005.

005 had talked to the Arcanine extensively for the past few days. According to Blast, he had a family once, a mate and several Growlithe pups. Then, Team Rocket had raided his home and captured him, taking him away from his family, and he hadn't seen them since.

Since he was taken, he had worked for Team Rocket, where he was treated cruelly and forced to fight until he was near death. He still thought of his family and children, though, and wanted to return to them more than anything.

Suddenly Blast stirred. He awoke and stood before yawning and stretching.

 **"Good morning, 005."** The Arcanine said, smiling. The sound of the great dog's woof woke Ember. The lion stood and walked over to 005 and Blast with his tail swishing and his yellow eyes bright.

Thankfully, 'Phoenix' had only appeared once, and only for a few hours. 005 was still unsure what to do with the lazy, arrogant, alternate persona. He seemed to only be willing to help as long as it was beneficial to him. If he ever took over Ember in a dangerous situation and Phoenix didn't want to help…the Charmeleon didn't want to even consider that.

"Um…good morning." The lion's mouth twitched in a brief smile. Dew walked over as well, followed by Kadabra, then the clanking footsteps of Steel. The six Pokémon stood in a circle.

 **"What's next?"** Blast asked. 005 sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I honestly don't know. I guess we should alert the authorities to the Team Rocket bases through Joan's device…but I doubt anyone will be there…they're too smart for that. Other than that…I don't know."

"Well, Team Rocket has dozens of other bases, right? So our work has barely begun!" Dew said. 005 frowned and crossed his arms.

"Well…um…we don't know where any are, right?" Ember said timidly. Steel nodded and shrugged.

"Exactly. I have no idea where to start looking." The Charmeleon sighed. Blast looked up suddenly, a smile on his canine face.

 **"I think…I might be able to find a few of them!"** Blast said. 005 gave him a hopeful look.

"Really? How?" The Charmeleon asked, his tail flicking in excitement.

 **"When I was with Team Rocket…I went to three different bases. One was the Ice Path base…the one you said you went to already. The other base was, of course, the base in Lavaridge. But the third…"** Blast trailed off.

"Do you know where it is?" Joan suddenly joined the conversation, looking eager. The Arcanine frowned.

 **"We only went there once…last year…but I remember lots of cars. It was definitely a big city…and I also remember that we went into a department store…I think it's in Goldenrod."** Blast finally said.

"Well then! Let's go kick their sorry asses!" Kadabra growled, taking an eager step forward.

"We can't just storm in like we always do!" Dew said, frowning at Kadabra.

"Do we have to storm in at all? Phoenix might…yeah. He says that one strong attack from me and he takes over. Wonderful." Ember sighed.

"We've already come this far. We cannot step aside and let Team Rocket do whatever they please!" 005 growled.

"We can't just march in again!" Dew growled back.

"Those asses have to pay!" Kadabra added helpfully.

"If we _make_ then pay, I…I'll lose control!" Ember fired back with rarely seen ferocity. Then there was a shouting match. Everyone's cries and arguments got louder and louder until Blast barked loudly.

 **"STOP!"** The other five looked at Blast and instantly got quiet at the dog's stern expression. **"This won't help anything!"** The Arcanine growled.

"He's right. Screaming won't help anyone! There are two things I know. One, we do have to trash the place, two, we can't do it like we have before. We _do_ need a better plan." 005 sighed and sat onto the ground. "I just don't know what our plan should be…"

"We always think of something." Joan smiled, "…but…I think we should go back to Kanto now. We've been here for over a week, my Pokégear is out of battery…not to mention the fact that I've been wearing the same clothes for four days! We need to go back." 005 nodded.

"Very well. Tonight we—" Suddenly the Charmeleon was interrupted by a distant whirring. He looked to the mouth of the cave and dropped to all fours.

"What the hell…?" He muttered, walking toward the exit on his knuckles and back legs. He walked cautiously onto the ledge outside the cave, the rest of the group right behind him.

In the air just outside a large black helicopter hovered.

"You have been causing lots of trouble for us! We are here to capture you!" A voice boomed from the chopper. Then from the bottom of the helicopter a large black gun dropped. The gun aimed itself at 005 and fired a purple and white Master Ball towards the Charmeleon.

A red beam fired from the ball, attempting to absorb 005 inside of it. Instead, the Charmeleon glowed white and the ball dropped to the ground, harmless. Five more balls fired, attempting to capture Blast, Dew, Steel, Ember, and Kadabra, but those balls also fell harmless to the ground.

Joan instantly scooped up the powerful Pokéballs and placed them in her backpack.

"You have already been captured? Well then." Two more guns appeared out the side of the helicopters, these ones were much smaller. "I guess we'll just kill you."

Bullets shot from the gun towards the group, but Kadabra's eyes glowed blue and stopped the bullets in their wake. Joan, thinking fast, whipped out Ember's Pokéball and withdrew the lion before climbing onto Dew's back.

"I can't hold them for much longer!" Kadabra growled as more and more bullets became suspended in midair by his psychic field.

Steel grabbed Blast, and in a swift move launched into the air. Dew and Joan followed. Kadabra gave 005 a fierce look, his eyes glowing blue and sweat beading on his forehead.

 _"As soon as I take you in my field, the bullets already stopped will drop to the ground, but_ _I can't stop any_ _new bullets fired . Be ready."_ The psychic spoke telepathically. Kadabra's wings buzzed and shot into the air, and the stopped bullets fell to the ground even as 005 began to float, surrounded by blue energy.

Bullets whizzed past them as Kadabra shot away, the Charmeleon in tow.

005 always enjoyed flying with Kadabra, it was his only glimpse of how it would feel to evolve.

Something he could never do.

However, it wasn't as enjoyable when they were being chased by a helicopter firing bullets at them.

Kadabra dodged and swerved around, trying to be a harder target. The chopper was right behind them, but Kadabra was slightly faster, at least fast enough to be getting further and further away.

"You got it, wingy!" 005 shouted.

 _"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"_ The psychic screamed mentally, his wings beats getting even faster. The whirling of the helicopter began to fade, and 005 could see that it was getting farther and farther away.

"Yes! We'll be out of range soon!" The Charmeleon shouted gleefully, ducking beneath a bullet as it flew over his head.

Kadabra opened his mouth to respond, but then his eyes widened in pain.

His wings stopped buzzing, and he began to spiral towards the treetops. 005 fell out of the psychic field, and he also began free fall towards the earth.

Frantically, the Charmeleon grabbed Kadabra by his scythe, ignoring the nasty cut the sharp blade gave his hand.

"Kadabra wake up!" 005 yowled, struggling to hang on. The trees got close and closer.

"Wake up!" 005 managed to yell again before the ground caught up with him and the Charmeleon crashed through the trees. His world went black.

* * *

005 woke up a few hours later, covered in scratches and bruises. He sat up and rubbed his head, then winced and ripped it away.

 _Kadabra!_ He though in a panic, looking around for the psychic bug. He finally spotted him lying at the base of a tree, sprawled out face-down. The Charmeleon dashed over to him with worry. His hand shaking slightly, 005 pressed his finger's against the side of Kadabra's throat. He felt a pulse. He sighed with relief. The Charmeleon stepped back and surveyed the psychic bug, who was also covered in lumps, scratches, and bruises. He looked harder over Kadabra's body, trying to figure out the reason for his crash. Finally he saw it; a large hole in Kadabra's upper right wing.

 _He's been shot!_ 005 realized in horror. The Charmeleon looked around desperately for help, but saw no one. _The rest of the team was too far ahead…they have no idea where we are!_

005 covered his mouth and sat down on the ground.

 _If I don't do something soon…he could die…think! Think! What do I do?_ He stood again and began to pace. He looked again at the Kadabra. The bullet hole on his wing was a gaping hole, and oddly, blood gushed from it. Not only that, but the psychic had a huge gash on his head that was also bleeding, along with dozens of smaller scrapes and bruises, several of which were nasty gashes that also bled.

 _I need to get him out of here!_ 005 realized. Walking over to Kadabra, he slung his arm under the psychic's and lifted him up. The Charmeleon chose a random direction and stumbled forward with Kadabra in tow.

The walk was painstakingly slow and seemed to last forever, each step an eternity. Then, in the distance, the tress thinned. The dirt faded into sand and dust, and the few trees still in the area were dead. A wind kicked up, blowing sand into 005's eyes. The Charmeleon squinted in pain and tried to stumble forward. His breath was raspy again, and his cuts stung as dust flew into them. He walked forward, determined, but growing more weary with each and every step. Finally 005 collapsed, wheezing as sand entered his nostrils and his lungs.

Kadabra fell into the sand beside him, face-down. 005 barely had enough consciousness to shove the psychic onto his back so Kadabra's mouth faced up. Then he allowed the darkness gathering at the edges of his vision to consume him.

* * *

Joan leaned down to Dew's ear in worry and shouted above the wind,

"What about Kadabra and 005? Are they okay?" The Dewott shrugged and screamed back,

"We can't risk going back! They're strong, they'll make it!" Joan nodded, but she felt intense dread building in the pit of her stomach.

* * *

005 awoke in a hospital bed. Lights blinded him for a second, but they faded and he found a face staring down at him, and a tube pumping liquid into his veins.

"Amazing…" The voice said, "He has a Monferno mask…and the other has wings and a Scyther blade!" 005's vision became more focused, and he saw that the face was a woman in a bright red wig and a nurse's hat. He sat up sharply.

"Woah there little guy! Don't get all crazy! Your friend is just there, see?" The woman pointed to 005's right. Indeed, Kadabra was lying there, connected to a bunch of machines. He looked horrible, but he was alive. Alive for now.

"Now, you just relax, okay sweetie? We have some very nice scientists coming to look at you." The woman said in a perky voice. 005 could instantly tell this woman was one of those people that thought Pokémon were just _pets_ just _beasts_ that weren't even the slightest bit intelligent. However, if he spoke in human tongue to rebuke her, she might tell the scientists to get here sooner, so instead he made a low growl and nodded.

"Good! Now just relax. Your friend will be all better tomorrow! And the day after that, the nice men will come and help you! Rest up, sweetie." She patted his knee and exited the room through a glass door. Next to the glass door was a huge window, and to 005's dismay several Pokémon and trainers stared in awe at the Charmeleon.

"Goddamn, the humans know about us!" He whispered under his breath. He saw one human pull out one of the same device Joan had and hold it up to the window. There was a bright flash that emanated from the device, and then the human put the device away.

"Ugh…stupid humans and their stupid tech." 005 muttered he leaned back in the comfy bed and looked over at Kadabra, who appeared to be sleeping peacefully. The Charmeleon yawned, suddenly exhausted. _Might as well sleep._ He thought. _Tomorrow we escape this human-ridden place…before we're taken away for even more experiments._

* * *

005 awoke again, this time to find Kadabra sticking his yellow nose in 005's face. The psychic slapped him none-too-gently across the face twice.

"Wake-up, moron." He hissed. 005 jerked fully awake, sitting up in the bed and looking around. The hospital was dark, except for the steady flat-line coming from Kadabra' monitor.

"Hurry up! They know I'm out of bed. Rip off that IV and let's get outta here!" said the psychic as he yanked 005 to a standing position on his bed. 005 ripped the tube out of his arm and a long oxygen tube out of his nose. His own monitor flat-lined.

"Dammit come on! Damn bastard." Kadabra dashed to the door.

"What about you, idiot! Are you alright?" 005 growled as he ran up to the Kadabra. The psychic shut his eyes, and the door swung open. Dim lightbulbs shone light into the outer hallway. Kadabra stepped into the hall and turned right. He dashed down, ignoring 005's question. The Charmeleon sighed and dropped to all fours, dashing after the psychic. He followed Kadabra around the halls, and they had just come to the escalator that led to the lobby of the Pokémon center when Nurse Joy appeared, her bright red wig askew.

"Oh, sweeties! Why are you awake? You go back to bed now! Don't make nursey angry!" Said the nurse in a sickly sweet voice. Kadabra grunted in anger, his eyes glowing blue. A blue aura surrounded the nurse and pinned her arms to her sides.

"Oh sweetie! You've made _us_ angry! Just stay out of our way, ickle-nurseykins!" 005 chortled. The nurse's jaw dropped in shock as Kadabra and 005 laughed their way around her and down the stairs.

And they bumped right into a fat security guard, who had finally got off of his lazy ass to find out what all the loud flat-lining had been about.

 _This has to be the worst Arceus-damned Pokémon Center in all of the world!_ 005 thought in anger as the guard sent out a Mightyena and a Manectric and ordered them forward.

"ARCEUS DAMMIT WITHDRAW THEM! YOU DAMN MORONIC IDIOT LET US LEAVE! STUPID, LAZY ASS, MOTHER F—"

"Just step aside." 005 interrupted the psychic's angry outburst. The security guard looked stunned and withdrew his Pokémon with robot-like movements. The Charmeleon smirked and walked around him towards the exit doors. They were locked. An orb of blue and orange energy appeared in front of 005's mouth and launched at the doors, blasting them open.

005 ran into the town, then looked around in shock. _The town was a giant building._ It was pitch black, so it was hard to tell, but when 005 looked up his suspicions were confirmed. There were no stars and no moon, but they weren't inside the Pokémon Center anymore. The only light came from the Charmeleon's flaming tail.

"Right. That takes care of that. Now, where the hell do we go next?" The psychic growled, looking around in the pitch blackness with equal shock.

 _Oh. Map._ 005 thought, wheeling about and marching back into the Pokémon Center.

The map told them that they were in Mauville City, and that in order to leave Hoenn they needed to go north. After they left the Pokémon Center for the second time, they cautiously made their way out of the strange, covered city and into the fresh air, ahead of them was a large stretch of sand that seemed to glow blue in the pale light from the moon.

"Are you _okay?"_ The Charmeleon asked again. The psychic fixed him with a glare.

"I'm _fine._ I won't be flying anytime soon, but I'm fine."

"Why did your wing bleed?" 005 said.

"My wings aren't like normal Scyther wings, alright? They're made out of skin." Said Kadabra as he yanked his arm out of 005's grip and trudged through the sand.

"Does it have to be so Arceus damned cold at night?" He grumbled. 005 didn't mind, his body was naturally heated due to his bonding with the fire element. He wasn't thinking much about the chill, though.

"Wait…if you can't fly…are we stuck in Hoenn?" The Charmeleon asked. Kadabra smirked.

"Actually…I have a plan. Remember when we hijacked that boat?"

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Not much to say. Sorry for lack of frequent updates! And I know the past few chapters haven't been the best…sorry. Also thanks for all the OC's so far! They're pretty awesome! I can't set a specific time when they'll appear…they'll be sporadic in appearance and I might not get to them all.**

 **Thanks for faving/following/reviewing/reading!**


	14. Chapter 12: Stowaways

**Chapter 12: Stowaways**

Joan paced in the warehouse base's bedroom. The others in the group followed her movements.

"Where are they? They should be here by now! We should go look for them…" Joan muttered. Dew stepped forward and stepped in front of Joan to stop her frantic movements.

"We can't risk it!" Said the Dewott, "We just have to trust them. I'm sure they'll be here soon. But with Team Rocket on the prowl…we can't risk it." Joan looked desperately at the other Pokémon. Steel cocked his head and nodded slowly. Joan resisted a shudder at the Lucario's red gaze.

"We're safe here…" Ember added. Blast gave a little whimper and shifted uncomfortably.

"I know they could be in danger…but we are too. 005 would want us to stay safe, so we will. They have to have food of some kind in this base…we can stay in here and find food. Lots of members of Team Rocket lived here I'm sure…otherwise they wouldn't have beds, right? So they have to have more amenities. Until Kadabra and 005 get back, _we stay in here._ Understood?" Dew ordered. Joan nodded reluctantly.

 _Oh 005…where are you guys?_

* * *

"Slateport?" 005 asked incredulously. "That's where the yachts are?" Kadabra nodded.

"According to the map in the Pokémon Center…we have to go _south._ " He added. 005 sighed and rubbed his head, considering the options in his mind.

"So you're telling me that we just made our way through a giant building that was also a city, going north, but in reality the fastest way to get home is south, and meanwhile the sun is rising soon? Why the hell didn't you tell me this idea of yours _before_ we walked for an hour!?" 005 said

"Shut the hell up. Are you willing or not? We don't have to walk through the city, genius. We can walk around." Kadabra glared back. 005 returned the glare, then sighed.

"It'll shave off hours to go through…and we need to get back to our team! So let's hurry."

"Okay, it's settled. Turn around you lizard! Sunrise is coming and we have to get through the town before people get up." Kadabra wheeled about and marched back into the city with 005 close behind.

It was a relatively peaceful walk through the black town. The air was oddly still in the large building, which made 005 uneasy. The fact that the entire city was a building made him unsettled; he felt trapped. After they had made their way back to the Pokémon Center, there was a low buzzing and lights flickered on dimly inside the building.

"Crap. We'd better hurry…it won't be long before they turn the lights fully on." 005 dropped to all fours and began to dash through the streets. Kadabra followed him with huge leaps made possible only by his Scyther genes.

Right before they reached the exit of the city, the dim lights became much brighter. However, they exit was visible in the distance when this happened, so they managed to get out of the city without any unfortunate encounters. After that it was a rather long walk around a large lake to avoid any humans sighting them, a walk that took several hours. Finally they came to a rest next to an Oran Berry tree, and they munched on the fruit for lunch.

"How are you feeling?" 005 said as he rubbed his sore head. His minor scratches and bruises were healed, but he still had a nasty bruise on his head from the fall and a scab on his hand from Kadabra's scythe. Kadabra looked even more in pain, as during their trek some of his nastier scratches had begun to bleed again, and he still had a gnarly gash on his head and a bandage on his wing on where the bullet had struck. Kadabra finished swallowing an Oran Berry.

"Fine." He said shortly, standing up and pulling another Oran Berry off of the tree. 005 gave the psychic a skeptical look. Kadabra sighed and rolled his eyes at the Charmeleon, "I still hurt, but I'm better. Okay, smart-ass? We should keep goin'." He stood and began to walk away.

The Charmeleon shook his head at the psychic bug and stood to follow him.

* * *

Within the hour they narrowly avoided strolling right into a town. 005 barely held out his hand in time to prevent Kadabra from stepping directly onto the pavement.

"Pokémon towns begin too abruptly." Kadabra hissed, looking down at the sudden start of concrete after hours of forest and lake.

"It's still hours until sunset." Said 005 as he took a few steps away from the human town. After walking back several yards, the Charmeleon sat on the grass, leaves, and dirt of the forest floor and leaned against a tree, careful to keep his tail away from the bark and foliage. Kadabra sat against a tree opposite, and the two surveyed each other through narrowed eyes.

"So…uh…um…you mentioned at some point that Russell Brooks is dead." Kadabra grunted after a long, awkward silence. 005 suddenly remembered that one Machop's words, and his heart fell to his stomach. He maintained a hard face.

"Yeah, so? He did…horrible things. He probably deserved what he got." The Charmeleon suddenly found the forest floor very interesting, and he spotted a Caterpie crawl into some nearby bushes.

"Heh. Yeah. Whatever. Dumb ass." Kadabra said. Then an odd look came over his face and he blurted, "You know what though? He _apologized._ Arceus dammit…that bastard apologized. He was genuine too. I could sense his remorse…that feeling is something nobody and replicate."

005 restrained a look of shock at the psychic's sudden change.

"Yeah. I guess he did." The Charmeleon said quietly, keeping his expression carefully neutral.

This was going to be an interesting evening.

* * *

Joan shoved another piece of rubble into a broken glass cage. For the past few hours Joan and the rest of the team had been cleaning out the base, having nothing else to do. It was looking much better, they had washed off the chemicals in the lab and put all the rubble into the large glass cages in the lab at the front of the base. They had also been to every room inside the base and made several nifty discoveries, including a pantry full of food (both human and Pokémon), an infirmary, another room with many more beds in it, a broom closet, and a lounge complete with a gigantic TV set and dozens of comfy chairs. They had also found another lab in the back of the base with dozens of glass cylinders still filled with the orange liquid used for growing genetic mutations.

Steel finished breaking down a large piece of rubble and shoved at the top of one of the cages. Ember added another smaller rock, and Dew looked around in satisfaction as Blast added one last chunk of rubble to the top of the cage.

"It looks good. We've finished with this room." She smiled. Joan looked around and found that the front lab was completely clean, with scattered papers now in neat piles on the large black tables, and every large piece of rubble shoved into the broken cages. Dust still coated the floor, but it was nothing a quick sweep wouldn't fix.

Ember sat down next to Dew, his tail flicking with happiness. His tail flicked against the rock pile behind him.

A rock perched on the very top of the said pile trembled with the tiny vibration, Blast barked a warning, but the rock already rolled over and hit the lion square on his head. The lion fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, he lifted his head weakly and shook his shaggy mane.

Joan looked at the lion in horror, her look mirrored by Dew, Blast, and Steel (his mouth was open). It wasn't due to Ember's injury, though. It was due to the fact that his eyes were now a solid red.

Phoenix stood up and glared around at them, his tail swishing in irritation.

"Aren't _you_ happy to see me!" He said, looking at their shocked faces. He looked down and snorted in disgust at the thin coating of dust on the floor. "This _rubble_ will dirty my magnificent _pelt!"_ Ember growled, causing the Luxray to hiss at the Arcanine.

Joan sighed and slapped her forehead. _This is going to be an interesting few hours…_

* * *

After several hours of (mostly) silence, it was finally dark out. 005 sighed in relief. The Charmeleon rushed to the town's border and surveyed the street. Lights were still on in most buildings, but the streets were deserted.

"Stop waiting, and let's find that boathouse, moron!" Kadabra said. The psychic shoved himself past 005 and into the deserted street. He walked around a building and continued down the street with 005 right behind him.

The wandered the streets for what seemed like hours, narrowly avoiding encounters with humans several times. Finally they arrived at a long dock that led out into the ocean; at the dock several large cruise liners were tied up. 005 walked down the line, surveying the boats carefully, using his tail for light. Finally he stopped in front of one of the boats and waved Kadabra over.

"This is our boat." He said in a gravelly whisper.

"What the hell makes you say that?" Kadabra questioned with a scowl. 005 sighed and held up his tail to the side of the boat. In fancy cursive script emblazoned on the side of the boat was "S.S. Kanto".

"Smart ass." Was all Kadabra could muster in response.

"Here, look." 005 said, pointing to a staircase leading up to the giant boat's starboard side. He cautiously walked up it, keeping a careful lookout for any guards. Seeing none he stepped onto the dock. He felt Kadabra brush past him.

"Do you sense anyone?" 005 asked. The psychic closed his eyes. His ears twitched slightly.

"Erm…lots of crewmen…all except two or three asleep. A few Pokémon are wandering about."

The Charmeleon nodded and walked forward, ignoring the eeriness of the deserted boat. They reached a small building in the center of the vessel and entered inside, finding a staircase leading down.

"We should get to the cargo hold at the very bottom. There's probably food and stuff down there." Kadabra said. 005 nodded and started down the stairs. From then on it was a maze made out of dozens of doors to cabins and large food areas and battle arenas and even a pool, along with countless other features.

Finally they reached a door marked "Employees Only".

"Damn! The cargo hold is probably through there…but…all the crewmen stand in the way." Kadabra hissed. 005 frowned at the door and, sure enough, the sound of thirty snoring men came from behind it.

"Doesn't matter. We gotta get through!" 005 whispered, reaching for the door handle.

 **"What do you think you're doing?"**

The Charmeleon turned slowly to find himself face to face with an angry looking Machoke with his arms folded.

"Uh…security check?" 005 offered weakly. The Machoke did not look amused.

 **"Why are you here? Why do you have abnormal features? Why do you speak the human tongue?"** He asked with a scowl.

"Listen, moron, we're miles from out home and we need to get back! Seeing as I can't fly thanks to pathetic bastards with their moronic guns, we're hitching a ride. Stand back and stop asking questions, buster, we're staying here whether you like it or not!" Kadabra hissed. The Machoke sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, looking at the two exhausted wounded Pokémon in pity.

 **"Ugh…fine. Go to the cargo hold. But any funny business and I raise the alarm, okay?"** 005 sighed in relief, surprised that the Machoke was letting them go after Kadabra's angry speech. Before the Machoke could change his mind, 005 opened the door behind him.

He and Kadabra silently slipped through the snoring crewmen and to the door opposite the room. The door had another sign marked, "Employees Only". Kadabra took the lead and opened the door without hesitation. They walked down a metal spiral staircase and to a labyrinth of boxes and crates filled with the ship's cargo. The ship doubled as a cruise liner and a cargo ship, ferrying both people and loads of merchandise between the regions.

The Charmeleon and the psychic made their way through the maze of boxes until they found the very back. When they reached the back they rearranged boxes to form a wall with a small hiding place behind it, and there they sat and waited.

"How long do you think it will take to get back to Kanto?" Kadabra asked as he sat down and leaned against a crate. 005 sat down opposite him and leaned against the wall of the ship. He shrugged.

"No idea. But there should be food inside the crates, and if we keep our heads down we should be fine." The Charmeleon yawned. He stood and walked further down the wall, before curling up in a little ball on the ground.

"I'm going to sleep." He informed Kadabra. The psychic rolled his eyes.

"Oh really? I thought you were curling up in fetal position to have a good cry!"

"I'm not the type to cry." 005 muttered under his breath, shutting his eyes and trying to think of anything other than his present situation.

* * *

Joan was at a loss. The bit cat in front of her was grooming itself, completely unconcerned with the stares of shock looking at him. Shaking her head to try and clear her thoughts, she walked around the lazy lion and to Dew. She looked down at the Dewott with a grimace on her face.

"What do we do?" She asked. The otter merely shrugged.

"Nothing we can do but leave him be and hope he doesn't attack us."

"I'm right here, morons! Don't pretend like I can't hear you! I have no desire to take your puny lives. But _I'm_ tired, and I demand a bed! Show me to one!" Phoenix stood with red eyes flashing. Blast stood to his feet and made a move as if to smack the Luxray, but seemed to think better of it and lowered his paw. Phoenix looked at the big dog with grim satisfaction. Joan herself had to bite her lip to restrain a rude retort, instead turning and walking quickly to the bedroom. Dew ran up beside her and muttered,

"Maybe when he wakes up he'll be better…"

Joan hoped that he would. It was so wrong for poor Ember to be taken over by such an arrogant prick. After what seemed like an eternity she reached the bedroom door. Dew shoved it open and held it open. As the Luxray walked in he stopped and squinted down at the Dewott. He looked her over quickly. She crossed her arms and frowned at him, a nasty look in her ruby eyes,

"Why don't you just leave us the hell alone and give us Ember back?" She said. Joan looked at her in surprise, she rarely saw such ferocity in the Dewott, and she never heard her cuss. Phoenix smirked, flicking his flaming tail and nearly burning Joan's arm. Steel frowned at the Luxray. For what seemed like an eternity, Phoenix's burning red eyes remained locked onto Dew's ruby red ones. Finally he responded.

"Hmph. I can see what he sees in you." With this cryptic message he lifted his head high into the air and stalked into the bedroom, leaving Dew with an unreadable expression.

"What was that all about?" Joan asked Dew after they left Phoenix to his twisted dreams. The Dewott just shrugged.

"No idea." She said, her gaze locked on something in the distance. Joan sighed.

"Well, what else to we have to do today? Any other rooms to clear?"

"Um…the entrance hall. We should try and repair the entrance…you never know…someone might just walk in accidentally or something. That's the last thing we need right now. Steel! You go with Joan and you two see if there's any way to patch that hole." Dew ordered before turning around and marching back the way they came.

"Dew! Where are you going?" Joan called. Without turning around Dew replied,

"I have something to take care of." Leaving Joan and Steel standing there in utter confusion.

* * *

The entire voyage took about a week. 005 and Kadabra stole food from crates and occasionally had to shift from their hiding spot behind the crates when a sailor approached them, but for the most part they spent the uneventful days bored behind the crates. By the time the boat finally docked in Kanto, Kadabra and 005 could barely stand each other.

"Ugh finally we can get off this Arceus damned boat! Damn this place!" He stood up quickly and dashed away. 005 growled and ran after him on all fours, his frustration mounting by the second.

"Stop! You moron! We can't leave yet or we'll be caught!" The Charmeleon called after the psychic. Kadabra ignored him and dashed up the metal stairs. 005 ran up after him, following him through the crewmen's quarters and through halls and halls of rooms and people. The people stared at the two in shock, and 005 tried to keep his head down and away from them so it would be harder to spot his mask.

It didn't seem to work, though, for people still pointed at him and Kadabra alike, staring in awe and confusion. Finally they burst onto the main deck, where a herd of people were surging towards the exit onto the dock. Crewmen ran at 005, brandishing Pokéballs. The Charmeleon skidded to a halt and stood on all fours. Kadabra ahead of him also stopped and back up, as more crewmen were forcing him back. Several of the leaving people stopped to watch as crewmen surrounded the mutants from all sides and threw their Pokéballs simultaneously.

"You up to a fight?" 005 whispered to Kadabra, praying that the crewmen didn't hear him speaking in a normal tongue. Kadabra smirked and let out a small chuckle, brandishing his Scyther arm.

Before anyone made a move however, the psychic bug suddenly leaped into the sky, his wings buzzing, and lifted 005 with his psychic power. With a look of pain on his face, he flew into the air and disappeared behind a cloud. The crewmen, none of whom had flying Pokémon, threw curses after them, but they were already gone.

"You're gonna hurt yourself, wingy!" 005 yelled at the psychic, who conveniently ignored him. There was nothing 005 could do but watch as his friend flew on to the base, a look of immense pain on his face.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Yes, I am alive. And I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, for the lack of updates. I have no good excuse. I've just been incredibly lazy ;p**

 **Also, I was in a hurry to get this up so sorry if there are more grammar mistakes than usual.**

 **This may be the last chapter I post for a while, as school starts for me soon, and I will be VERY busy. Anyway…I know these past few chapters haven't been my best, but rest assured that I have some awesome (well…I say awesome…) twists and events planned for the next few chapters. Yeah. Thanks for reading!**


	15. Flashback: Brain of Steel

**Flashback: Brain of Steel**

 _2 Years ago…_

448 inhaled sharply. He was currently upside-down on a building in the middle of the night. Slowly but surely, he pulled back his bionic arm so that he was doing a one-armed handstand.

He knew it was weird, but physical labor helped him to keep his mind off of…his mind. So he snuck around buildings in the middle of the night and exercised, then slept through the day.

Today he had journeyed to Celadon City, but he never stayed in the same place for too long. That could mean discovery, discovery of the weird insane Lucario with a metal arm and metal legs.

448 exhaled and flipped back into a standing position.

 _Someone is here._ He knew suddenly. His bionic ear warned him of any person approaching him. His metal hear swiveled, performing a very unnatural three-hundred and sixty degree turn on his head.

 _Behind you._ The Lucario turned and charged an Aura Sphere, but quickly let it peter out when he saw who it was. A normal looking Luxray with a flaming tail. 448 sighed and smiled at the Luxray. The Luxray, 405, smiled back.

"448! What are you doing here?" He inquired. 448 flicked his ear in frustration. He knew exactly what he wanted to say, his muddled brain formed the words, but whenever he tried to actually speak them his words were garbled gibberish. So he let everyone think that he couldn't speak at all. He could make noise, but he chose not to.

 _Hurt him. He found you._ A small voice quivered in the back of the Lucario's mind. _Kill him. Kill him._ The voice whispered seductively. 448 ignored it like he had been doing his entire life and smiled at the Luxray before shrugging.

"You don't know? Huh." The lion walked up to 448 and held out his paw. The Lucario took his paw and shook it.

 _A very human gesture._ 448 thought. The Lucario pointed at 405. For a moment the Luxray looked confused, then realization dawned on his face.

"Oh…I've been living here ever since I…well…ever since 064 and the whole island thing. I stole some light blue paint and painted my fur blue, and I've actually managed to hold my tail flame in a star shape if I concentrate enough. I live on the streets, avoid people, and scavenge for food. It's not…not…bad." 405 sat down and sighed, looking down.

"Aw who am I kidding? I can be honest with you. I hate my life." 448 looked at the Luxray in alarm.

"Oh, don't look at me like that! I'm too much of a coward to take my own life, and besides…if I tried…well…my fire might stop me. But… you know…day after day after day I do the same things and day after day after day I live without meaning, without purpose. And the sad part is…I might never have a purpose. If we expose ourselves, we'll be tested on and experimented on again…if we don't we live purposeless meandering lives." 448 faked a hurt expression, but the look 405 gave him made him drop it.

 _Your right. I wish I could tell you. I don't think you're a coward. We do live purposeless lives. The problem is…I'm in the same boat as 405. If I even try…even think about…killing myself…well. I can't._

 _Yes…I want you to live…give in to me. I can take away your emotion. I can make you strong. I can give you a heart and brain of steel. Just give in to me…just let me take over…it can all go away…_

448 shook his head. That was when he realized that he had to get far away from all civilization. Because the machine, the monster, the metal trying to get free was sounding more and more tempting.

The Lucario pointed in the vague direction of Sinnoh. The Luxray cocked his head.

"That way? What's that way?" He asked in confusion. 448 pointed to himself, and then back in that direction.

"You're going to that side of Kanto…well…okay." 405 frowned. The Lucario shook his head and pointed in that direction again.

"Oh further...let's see…um…oh! Sinnoh is that way, huh?" The Luxray realized. 448 nodded. The Lucario had heard of an island there, an island where his own kind lived. A secluded island where few came. He needed to be there, away from people. He didn't know if he could last against the little voice in his head for much longer.

448 pointed to his arm.

"Bionic?" The Luxray guessed. 448 shook his head. "Steel?" The Lucario shook his head but made a motion with his hand telling the Luxray to continue in that area. "Um…what else…um…Iron?" The Lucario nodded.

"You're going to a place with iron in Sinnoh? Oh…okay. Well…what will you do there?" 405 asked the precise question 448 didn't want to be asked. The Lucario locked his gaze into the distance. The voice whispered in the back of his mind, but he ignored its foul words. The voice was loud tonight. Sometimes it would be quieter, a mere mumbled easily ignored. Other times it was a deafening shout that was nearly impossible to ignore.

One thing was for sure; 448 needed to train his mind. He needed to get as far away from civilization as he could and word on his heart and his mind so that the voice could never take him over.

He needed a mind, heart, and soul of steel that would never erode of falter so that he would never be controlled.

"Well…um…sun's starting to rise." 405 said, bringing 448 back into reality. The Lucario nodded. He wanted to speak so badly; he was so sick of one-sided conversations. Thanks to his stupid bionics it was pretty much impossible. Instead he smiled at the Luxray and fired up his bionic legs. He hovered for a moment as he and 405 gave each other a mutual nod of respect. Then he aimed himself towards the distance and left.

The only thing he enjoyed about his bionics was flight. It was…exhilarating to say the least. He dove up into the cloud cover then let his flight deactivate, plummeting towards the ground at a tremendous speed head first. Before he crashed into the dirt road below he activated them again and skimmed the road's surface. He pulled up again and did loops and twists in the air, grinning fiercely.

 _You do like us…_ The voice whispered, _Stop fighting and you could do so much more._

448 ignored the whisper and straightened his course. He put on an extra burst of speed, also trying to ignore the small corner of his mind that wanted to give in.

* * *

The Lucario didn't stop once, not even for food or water. It took him all day and part of the night to finally reach the place where his kind we native; Iron Island. He circled the small island once, twice, then landed in front of a cave entrance and walked inside. His normal eye was useless, but his bionic eye instantly adjusted to the dark.

448 made his way through the tunnels, going deeper and deeper. His aura sensed life all around him and his bionic ears heard scuffling noises occasionally, but he never actually saw another Pokémon. Finally he came to a dead end, and there he plopped himself down and sat cross-legged.

He shut his eyes and opened his mind to everything around him. His aura skills were weaker than they should be, again thanks to his bionics, but he still sense life all round him. His listened to their personalities and thoughts for an unmeasurable amount of time. His stomach rumbled and his mouth was dry, but he didn't care.

 _Feed us. Feed us._ The voice hissed loudly. 448 hardened himself against it.

Then he sensed something big coming towards him. He opened his eyes and stood to his feet. His bionic eye zoomed ahead and he saw several gigantic Steelix coming towards him. He gulped in nervousness. He was exhausted, hungry, and thirsty, and Steelix were extremely territorial, somewhat dull, Pokémon. He got in a battle ready stance.

In a matter of minutes, the three Steelix reached him. They stopped when they caught sight of 448's glowing red eye.

"WHY ARE YOU IN OUR TERRITORY?" The one in the middle asked. The Lucario tried to speak, but his speech was mangled.

"YOU INSULT US? HOW DARE YOU!?" The Steelix on the right said. 448 flinched.

"ANSWER US, PATHETIC LUCARIO!" The Steelix on the left spoke. 448 remained silent. A light filled the cave as the middle Steelix's tail glowed with energy. Pain filled 448 as he was struck in the side and sent flying into the wall, landing in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the rocky surface. He forced himself up again, only to be smacked with several rocks and buried beneath them. He punched his way out of them with his bionic arm, only to be bit in the side by another Steelix and smashed into the ceiling.

He dropped with a heavy clang onto the ground.

 _Let us fight! Let us take over!_ The voice roared in his head. 448 tried his best to ignore it, but the demands were tempting and deafening all at once. He was smacked again back into the wall.

His vision glazed over, and suddenly he didn't control his movements anymore. A foreign presence filled his consciousness, and suddenly the Lucario found it very hard to feel…anything.

He saw himself dodged and twist around the Steelix, but his movements were not his own.

 _Go away!_ 448 commanded the presence, but it did not relent. He could only watch as his own body betrayed him, punching and firing blasts of energy at the Steelix. Then, the most horrible thing of all.

He leaped onto the back of one of the Steelix and scrambled to the top of it. He wrapped his arm around the creature's neck and squeezed tightly.

The metal snake thrashed and bucked, but was unable to kick the Lucario off.

 _Stop! He can't breathe!_ 448 shouted, he knew it was wrong, but he was finding it hard to care. So what if it died? It wasn't his problem…it had been the Steelix's idea to attack him in the first place.

"ATTACK THE LUCARIO!" One of the other Steelix cried.

"WE'LL HIT OUR BROTHER!" The other replied. Steel felt his bionic arm tighten around the Steelix's neck.

 _No! Stop!_ He forced himself to care. He was committing murder! He tried to force his arms to cease squeezing, to cease tightening, but to no avail. Finally the Steelix's thrashing ceased, and the heavy iron snake fell to the ground with a tremendous crash. Suddenly h had control of his own limbs, and he leaped off of the Steelix's body in horror.

The other to Steelix wailed and slithered over to their fallen brother. Before they turned their attention back on the Lucario, he turned and dashed away, tears streaming out of his one good eye. He ran and ran until he was hopelessly lost. Finally he collapsed out of exhaustion, breathing heavily.

 _With me you wouldn't feel such pain._ The voice whispered seductively. 448 ignored it, feeling disgusted with himself.

 _I am weak, but no more. I will never give in to the voice again, I swear it. My mind is weak…but it must become honed! So I never hurt anyone like that again! I will make my mind a brain of steel! The voice will never pierce my defenses ever again!_

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Here's Steel's spotlight.**

 **I feel so bad for my own character…what have I done…oh well.**

 **Thanks for reading and other stuff!**


	16. Chapter 13: Shouting Match

**Chapter 13: Shouting Match**

Kadabra landed right outside the warehouse with a heavy thud, 005 instantly was released from his energy field, and fell to the ground beside Kadabra. The psychic fixed 005 with a sheepish grin, took a step towards the base, and promptly fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. Several of his wounds had opened up again, and the bandage on his wing had fallen off long ago, leaving the nasty bullet wound exposed. It was also bleeding profusely.

005 muttered a curse and slung Kadabra over his shoulder, struggling to keep ahold of him due to his size. He stumbled towards the base despite his discomfort, and was inside in seconds. To his surprise, he found that the hole in the floor of the warehouse had been repaired; only cracks remained as evidence of the damage. The Charmeleon looked around sharply, searching for a way in the base, but before he could do anything the floor began to lower. 005 dashed forward and leaped onto it.

He put Kadabra on the floor next to him and looked at the psychic in exasperation. He had ignored all of 005's protest on the way to the base; not pausing for rest or food or water. Now here he was, injured again.

 _Why is it that we can't even go for a week without one of us almost dying?_ 005 though bitterly, instinctively rubbing his throat, which was marked by a bumpy white scar. His voice was now distinctively gravelly.

His brooding session was interrupted by the smiling face of Blast, who greeted him in the hallway that had begun 005's journey.

 **"** **Welcome!"** The Arcanine barked, his fluffy tail wagging. Steel and Joan stood behind the dog, both looking happy to see 005 again. Steel nodded in greeting, but Joan merely pulled out her Pokégear and waved it in from of his face.

"Way to go. Now the entire world knows about the existence of Pokémon mutants! No more covert operations and landing outside of towns! No more wandering in broad daylight! Everyone is on the hunt for you. Every major professor in the world has a bounty on your head! If I wasn't such an idiot I'd turn you two in!" She paused, breathing heavily. 005 silenced her with a furtive glance at Kadabra. Joan sighed.

"Steel, bring him to the bedroom. Dew should be able to help him…speaking of whom…where is Dew?" 005 cast a questioning glance at Blast as the Lucario lifted Kadabra with ease and carted him off.

 **"** **Dew is…um. Well. I don't know. She's been acting strange ever since a few days ago, when Ember had a brief episode and Phoenix showed up. She's distant…and I'm trying to find a better word than** ** _cold…_** **but…"** The great dog shrugged. Joan, who seemed to have cooled off after her earlier outburst, took a deep breath and smiled at 005.

"I'm glad you two are back, though. Come here, I think you'll like what we've done to the base." She said before the Charmeleon could respond to Blast's remarks about Dew. Blast just shrugged and followed after Joan eagerly, 005 following reluctantly.

* * *

After a tour of the cleaned base, 005 went to get some much-needed rest. The rest of the Pokemon quietly milled about, some made idle chatter, but for the most part there was silence. Joan decided to use the time to plug in her Pokégear and check her messages.

Just as she suspected, there were dozens and dozens of message from Myles asking her where she'd been. She'd missed their meeting in Vermillion and, on top of that, she'd been ignoring his messages. He must have told her parents too, as there were several messages from her parents.

Resolving to address them later, she moved to her news app. The first thing that met her eyes was a video of 005 and Kadabra in hospital beds. 005 was glaring at the camera, but Kadabra was asleep, and looked very weak. Joan sighed at the headline, which read, 'Mysterious Freak Pokémon? Is There Danger Abroad?'

Feeling it was her duty, she scrolled down to the article.

Just days ago, two strange Pokémon were found in the deserts of Hoenn, unconscious. They were taken to the nearest Pokémon Center for treatment, where they slept for a few days. However, before trained Pokémon experts arrived to take a look at the strange find, the Pokémon escaped, seriously wounding the Nurse and the Security Guard that worked at the Center.

"I was scared for my life." Said the weak Nurse Joy, "They came at me…they were so terrifying…they showed no mercy. They made such strange cries, too. Almost like garbled human speech." The security guard shared a similar experience,

"My Pokémon, both very strong Pokémon who I raised from the egg, were no match for them. They didn't stop at my loyal companions though, they came at me next. It was utterly horrifying." He said.

Pokémon trainers are severely cautioned, especially less experienced trainers. The Police has warned all trainers to travel in groups when possible, and always have a Pokémon out of its Pokéball at your side. These Pokémon are highly dangerous and merciless. Be warned.

Joan scoffed at the screen. The media…blowing things up as always. Now they would have to be twice as careful when travelling! The mutts weren't dangerous, unless the person happened to work for Team Rocket. Then they were dangerous. _We have to be more careful, though._ She thought.

Joan heard soft footsteps approaching, and she raised her head to find Dew looking at her in concern.

"You look angry. What's wrong?" She asked.

"The whole world knows about the mutants now, and the media has made them out to be super villains or something ridiculous like that. It's going to be much harder to travel with the whole world looking for you guys." Joan replied.

"How are your human friends? I know they must be worried about you."

"They're fine." Joan said, avoiding the Dewott's ruby gaze. Dew scoffed.

"Don't try to lie to me, Joan. They _must_ be worried, or you wouldn't blow me off like that." Dew said. Joan looked down at the Dewott, trying to decide what to say.

"Fine, they've left me dozens of messages on my Pokégear and they're all worried sick, I missed the meeting with my friend Myles, and he must have called my parents because I have a dozen messages from them too!" Dew remained silent for a second, staring at the ground in deep concentration. Finally she said,

"Do you know where Myles will be next?"

"He's probably at Celadon by now."

"Go to him. Take Blast and go to him."

"What? Dew! But…we need to go to Goldenrod and raid the base there, and there's plenty of stuff I need to do there and this whole Team Rocket issue is bigger than my petty friend issues!"

"Go."

Joan looked at Dew in amazement. Dew held her gaze. Finally, Joan conceded and nodded sharply. Dew smiled.

"Blast? I need you!" Joan yelled.

* * *

"You did WHAT!?" 005 screamed at Dew, jumping from his bed.

"She's already given up so much for us, I figured it was time she got a break." Said Dew, unflinching. 005 grit his teeth and sighed. Steel, who was standing nearby, watched the exchange with unflinching eyes. 005 glanced at the Lucario's eerie red eyes and said,

"Steel, please excuse us for a moment." The Lucario tilted his head, then nodded slowly and exited. 005 walked over to Kadabra and made sure that he was still sleeping. Then he said to Dew in a low whisper.

"Listen…I think we have a traitor in our midst. You're the only one I trust…and Kadabra to a fault."

Dew reeled back and stared at 005 in shock.

"Who would DARE—"

"Shh!"

"Sorry…who would betray us? All of us are trustworthy."

"I can't say…but how on earth would Team Rocket have found us on Mt. Chimney? We were in a secluded area pretty far from where we had raided them…something just doesn't add up." 005 said. Dew remained silent for a second.

"But…you can't suspect Joan?" 005 remained silent. "Joan would never betray us!"

"All I know is that she's human. She has a Pokégear device that can contact anyone from anywhere. She's been terrified of us before…I just don't know if we can trust her. Steel and Ember are other candidates."

"B-but…why?"

"Dew, you're clever. You know why. Steel was experimented on, we don't know what Team Rocket could have done to his mind. He was already a bit of a loose cannon. Ember…Ember has two personalities. It wouldn't be above Phoenix to report out movements to the enemy. We can't trust anyone."

Dew's gaze met 005's for a second.

"But you can trust me?" She said. 005 smiled.

"You would never betray any of us. You're the one that keep us together. In a way, you're the true team leader."

Dew rushed forwards and hugged 005 tightly. The Charmeleon struggled in her grasp but she didn't let him go.

"Thank you." She said, keeping the tears in her eyes.

* * *

With the Arcanine's natural speed, it was a matter of hours before the pair reached Celadon, but by that time it was nearing dark, so Blast and Joan wandered around the town before they found the Pokémon center. Joan checked in at the counter and went to her room, leaving Blast outside for the night. She fell asleep quickly on the soft bed.

The next morning she rose rather early and took a nice, long shower. She got dresses in fresh clothes and wandered downstairs. She approached the counter again.

"Nurse Joy? Is there a boy named Myles Johnson checked in here?" She asked.

Nurse Joy pulled out a book and flipped through the pages.

"Ah, yes. A young man named Myles checked in early this morning."

"Joan?" An incredulous voice sounded from behind her. Joan froze and held her breath. She turned around to see Myles staring at her in shock in front of the stairs. Joan tried to smile but found she couldn't, so her mouth just twitched.

"Hi." She said. He ran forward and wrapped his arms around her in a huge bear hug. She flinched in his grasp; human contact seemed foreign. She raised her arms up and returned it, squeezing gently. After an eternity, he let go and stared at her, emotions boiling just beneath his face. She knew what he was going to say before he said it.

"Where have you been? Why haven't you contacted me? Me and your parents are so worried! Why didn't you meet me in Saffron? You shouldn't travel alone anymore with those mutants out and about!"

"I don't believe the media." Joan blurted. Myles raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh?"

"I…I mean…I think the media blows up everything…I mean…honestly can you picture Pokémon mashed with other Pokémon that talk like humans? Really?" Joan stammered, trying to correct her outburst. Myles shrugged.

"I suppose not. But you owe me some explanations! Come on, I'll buy you breakfast." Joan's mouth watered at the thought of real food. The food at the base was less than decent. She nodded and followed Myles out of the Pokémon Center. As soon as she stepped foot outside, Blast let out a titanic bark, startling both Joan and Myles. The Arcanine ran up to Joan and licked the side of her face, his fluffy tail wagging.

"Is he _yours?"_ Myles asked scratching the huge dog behind the ears.

"In a way. I found him abandoned by his owner, who conveniently forgot to properly release him. So he is my Pokémon, he just doesn't have a Pokéball." Joan answered. It wasn't the exact truth, but it was close enough.

Blast looked at her with his big brown eyes and let out a small whimper. Joan wished one of the mutants was here to translate.

"Bring him along. We can feed him too." Myles said. Blast barked once more and lowered himself. Myles scrambled onto the dog's back, Joan close behind, and Blast set off at a steady trot.

* * *

"Okay. I've fed you and been very patient, now I must know what the hell you've been doing that's so important." Myles glared at Joan, and she knew she couldn't ignore him this time. She put her elbows on the table and her head in her hands and stared at him for a long time. "Please, Joan."

"I can't tell you. All I can say is that it is far, far more important than gathering gym badges." She sighed. Myles' eyebrows drew together and his face fell.

"More important than me? More important than your family?" He asked, folding his arms.

"More important that all of us!" Joan slammed her fist on the table, guilt rising up in her gut.

"You can trust me, Joan! You've always been able to trust me!" Myles raised his voice and stood.

"The people I work with _can't_ trust you!" She screamed back, also scrambling to her feet.

"Why?"

"They…they barely trust me. I don't even know how I got mixed up in this, Myles. Wrong place, wrong time. Or maybe it was right place, right time. I'm doing important work. I can try to convince them to trust you…but first I have to convince them to fully trust _me._ "

Myles relaxed. He shook his head and looked down at Blast, who was lying by the table, ears erect as he observed the two's shouting match. He reached down and scratched the Arcanine's ears and smiled.

"Okay, Joan. _I_ trust you. But…don't shut me out. Respond to my calls. I'll tell your parents that you're okay, that you arrived at Saffron late or something…but make sure to call them every week or so, alright? We don't want them to report you missing or something." Myles finally said. Joan relaxed and smiled at him.

"Thanks."

"Are you up for a battle? I want to see the strength of this Arcanine of yours."

"Sure!"

Joan and Myles rose from the table and proceeded to the park, the tension between them dissipated with the excitement of their rematch.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **First of all...I'm sorry for being sooooo laaaaate with this update. I know ya'll have been waiting for a long time for this chapter, and it is way overdue. Let me get one thing straight right away: My school is freaking hard. That's my only excuse. I barely have free time on the weekends and I didn't even really get a Thanksgiving break because I had so much homework to do.**

 **Second...I'm sorry that now that I finally HAVE updated, that this chapter is poop. I wrote half of it like four months ago and just finished it today. I haven't really gone over it and it's probably really inconsistent and it's also shorter than most of my other chapters...so I'm sorry that this chapter is so bad.**

 **I would love to finish this story but I can't make any promises that I will update consistently or often. It's difficult to juggle school along with my other activities like my social life and church, and with all that going on I have barely any time to write, and when I do I don't want to because my brain is dead. So yeah. No promises, but I'll try to get another chapter out in the next few weeks, and hopefully that chapter will be much better than this one.**


	17. Chapter 14: The Return

**Chapter 14: The Return**

They found a park in the city with a battlefield marked out on it. Joan stood on one edge to the stretch of grass, Myles at the other. A few passersby stopped to watch, sitting in the few benches that outlined the battlefield.

"Why don't we lead with our new Pokémon once more?" Myles suggested, already pulling out a shiny new Pokéball from his belt.

"Fine with me." Joan said. She beckoned Blast close.

"Will you fight for me?" She whispered. The Arcanine licked her face and ran out onto the battlefield in response. Realizing that she had no idea what moves Blast knew, Joan dug around in her bad for her Pokedex, opened it up, and pointed it at Arcanine. She scrolled through Blast's data until she came upon his moveset.

He knew many good moves, including Bite, Flame Wheel, Extreme Speed, Thunder Fang, and Flame Burst. Joan smiled. _I got this in the bag._

"You don't know your own Arcanine's moveset?" Myles taunted. Joan made a face at him.

"He is brand new, and I haven't battled with him before. Send out your Pokémon, let's get on with it!" Joan retorted. Myles just shook his head and flung his Pokéball.

The red energy came together to form a fierce-looking Golduck. The Golduck seemed larger than usual, and the ruby encrusted in its head glinted in the sunlight. It let out a deep cry and glared at Blast.

"This is Amazon. She attacked me and my Pokémon before we even made a move! She's very powerful."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You can lead." Joan rolled her eyes. Myles nodded.

"Amazon, use Aqua Jet!" The Golduck coated itself in a stream of water and launched at Blast.

"Blast, Extreme Speed!" Joan ordered. The Arcanine leaped out of the Golduck's way with insane agility and then charged at her, sending her flying.

The Golduck spun in the air and landed on her feet, completely unfazed by Blast's attack.

"You won't knock her out easily. Water Gun!" Said Myles. Amazon launched a powerful stream of water at Blast, knocking him in the face and nearly tipping him over.

He leaped out of the stream of water, completely soaked and clearly damaged by the attack.

"Follow it up with Confusion, Amazon!"

"Use Bite!" Joan cried. Amazon's red ruby glowed and she attempted to surround Arcanine with a pink energy field, but the move disappated as Blast opened his jaws wide and launched himself at the Golduck. He wrapped his jaws around her wrist and tossed her high into the air.

"Flame Burst!" Joan ordered.

"Use your momentum for charge down with Aqua Jet!" Myles said. Blast fired a powerful blast of flame at Amazon, but she flipped in the air and coated herself in water. She sliced right through the flames, unaffected, and she slammed squarely into Blast from above, flinging him to the ground. Blast laid on the ground for a few moments, but he managed to stand.

"Blast, Flame Wheel!" Joan cried. Blast sprang forward while breathing fire, transforming into a fast-moving fire ball.

"Dodge!" Myles shouted.

"Come out of Flame Wheel and use Thunder Fang!" Joan ordered.

Right as Amazon lunged to the side, Blast stopped and wheeled about, his jaws crackling with energy. He grabbed Amazon's ankle in his fangs. The Golduck's entire body jolted as the electricity crackled through hr body.

"Throw her down!" Joan commanded. The Arcanine's powerful neck arched as he slammed Amazon into the ground, where she lay in a crumpled heap, too exhausted to move.

Blast stood triumphant above his foe, panting heavily. Myles said nothing for a moment, then he said,

"Water Pulse." Joan and Blast simultaneously looked at Amazon in horror. Her eyes snapped open and she opened her beak wide, sending a hugely powerful blast of deep blue energy at Blast from below. The Arcanine was flung back, completely disoriented by Amazon's sudden recovery.

The Golduck forced herself to her feet, covered in burns and scrapes. But she wasn't unconscious yet.

"Amazon can recover from almost anything. She hasn't lost yet. She won against Lt. Surge's Raichu!" Myles smirked.

Joan gritted her teeth in frustration. Blast once again rose to his feet, exhausted. She didn't see how he could win this.

"Flame Burst!" Joan said. Blast launched a stream of fire from his jaws.

"Amazon, Water Gun!" Myles commanded. The Water Gun and the Flame Burst collided, even matched. Both dissipated into steam.

"Again!" Joan ordered.

"Amazon, Water Gun once more!" The two streams collided again, still evenly matched. More steam flooded the battlefield, making it difficult to see.

"Blast, get behind Amazon and use Flame Wheel!" Joan ordered.

"Stop him with Water Pulse!" Myles ordered.

Amazon prepared a Water Pulse, but she was so blinded by the intense steam that she missed Blast entirely. The Arcanine circled around her and hit her squarely in the back with a powerful Flame Wheel.

Amazon was flung away from Blast. She landed in front of Joan. Joan thought that the Golduck might be finished, but Amazon rose to her feet once more and faced the Arcanine.

"Leap and use Aqua Jet!" Myles commanded.

"Blast jump at her and use Thunder Fang!" Joan ordered.

"That's never work, Amazon will smack into Blast before he can get his fangs on her!" Myles sneered. Just as the two were about to collide, Joan ordered,

"Now spin!"

Blast spun end over end, electricity following his mouth's arc. The extra momentum sent him flying over Amazon. But his fangs hit the back of her neck, and electricity jolted through her and the spinning motion of the bite sent her flying into the ground. She landed hard, blood trickling down the back of her neck.

Blast landed on his side, unable to stop spinning in time to land properly. He managed to stand. Amazon did not.

"Wow. She lost." Myles said in amazement, withdrawing the Golduck into her Pokéball.

"Come back here, Blast. You did great." The Arcanine nodded and limped back to Joan, clearly exhausted.

"Go Sara!" Said Myles, throwing out another Pokéball that his Ivysaur sprang from.

"Pony! You're up!" Joan threw out her Ponyta's Pokéball. "Now I have the type advantage."

"That didn't do me any good! Sara use Take Down!" The Ivysaur ran forward, aglow with white energy.

"Pony, spin around!" Joan ordered. Although it had taken some time, Pony had finally come to trust Joan completely. The Ponyta instantly turned her back to the Ivysaur, even as she charged Pony down.

"Use Stomp!" Joan said. The Ponyta lashed out with her back hooves and kicked Sara right beneath the chin. The Ivysaur collapsed to the ground.

"Sara get up and use Leech Seed!" Sara got to her feet and aimed her flower at Ponyta. A small seed sprang from the bud.

"Pony, dodge!" Joan said, but it was too late. The seed hit Pony squarely in the chest and burst into several long thin vines that wrapped around her legs and torso.

"Vine whip!" Myles ordered. The Ivysaur lashed out with her vines and wrapped them around Pony before raising her in the air and slamming her on the ground.

"Pony, use Flame Wheel!" Joan said. The Ponyta spun with high speed and cloaked herself in flame, burning through the vines. She crashed into Sara, scorching her and sending her flying through the air.

"Sara, Razor Leaf!" Myles said. The Ivysaur rose and flung leaves at Pony. The leaves slashed at Pony and sent her reeling backwards.

"Alright, Sara, now use Poison Powder." Said Myles.

The Ivysaur once more reeled up on her front two paws and aimed her crimson flower at Pony, firing a spray of purple spores at the Ponyta.

"Pony! Quick use Ember!" Joan commanded. The Ponyta opened her mouth wide and breathed a stream of fire that quickly engulfed the purple spores and prevented them from touching the Ponyta.

"Sara use Take Down!"

"Pony use Flame Wheel!"

Pony charged forward in a spinning ball of pure flame, while Sara met her charge surrounded with white energy. The two collided in a blast, sending both Pokémon skidding to opposite sides of the battlefield. They both looked equally tired.

"Pony, Ember!" Said Joan.

"Dodge and use Razor Leaf!" Myles ordered.

Sara launched her way out of the flames and sent razor sharp leaves of green energy at Pony. The leaves struck her squarely on the flank, covering her with small scrapes. Sara then followed up with a Take Down, knocking Pony to the ground.

"Finish it!" Myles commanded.

"Get out of there!" Joan said in a panic. Sara had already surrounded Pony with her vines however, and the Ivysaur launched the Ponyta at Joan. The Ponyta fell to the ground, too exhausted to rise.

"I won that bout!" Myles smirked. Joan just scowled at him and withdrew Pony. She then pulled out Kiddo's Pokéball and threw the Gogoat out. The goat let out a massive bleat and stood proud and tall. "I see he evolved." Myles said.

"That's right! Now he's got twice the power!" Joan smirked. "Kiddo, Take Down!" The goat ran forward, his horns glowing with energy.

"Sara, Take Down!" Myles said.

The Ivysaur cloaked itself in energy and ran at the Gogoat. The two collided with tremendous power and energy, but Sara was blown back by the superior power of Kiddo. The Ivysaur landed in front of Myles and didn't rise. Myles withdrew the exhausted Ivysaur.

"That is a powerful Pokémon." He said, pulling out his next Pokéball. He tossed it out to reveal Peter, his Pidgeotto.

"Peter, Gust." Myles said. The Pidgeotto flew into the air and beat powerful air currents at Kiddo. "Follow it up with Quick Attack!"

The Pidgeotto immediately halted his windy assault and flew at Kiddo, white energy streaming behind him. He made solid contact, turned around and assaulted Kiddo again.

"Kiddo, stop him with Take Down!" Joan ordered.

As Peter turned around for a third assault, Kiddo crashed into him head on, sending him to the ground.

"Peter, Sand Attack!" Myles ordered. Peter kicked sand up all around him and straight into Kiddo's face. "Now, back to the skies and use Twister!"

Peter flew back in the air and began flying in circles around Kiddo, glowing with purple energy. After a matter of moments, a strong wind had picked up all around Kiddo. The Gogoat was lifted into the air with the force on the winds and sent spiraling into the air.

"Peter, Wing Attack!" Myles ordered.

"Kiddo, Tackle!" Joan cried desperately.

Peter flew at Kiddo, his wings glowing with light blue energy. Kiddo tried to turn himself in the air to meet Peter with tackle, but the Pidgeotto was too fast. He attacked Kiddo once, twice, then once more, sending the Gogoat down to the ground. The Gogoat crashed in an explosion of dirt. When the dust cleared, Kiddo tried to stand. He failed and collapsed once more, too exhausted to stand. Joan sighed and withdrew her Gogoat.

"Peter has gotten much stronger." Joan said.

"I've been doing some special training with him to get ready for this gym, since it's a grass type gym he'll be essential." Myles responded. "Let's get on with it!"

"Blast, you ready?" Joan asked. The Arcanine nodded and rose to his paws, taking a massive leap to arrive on the field. He let out a fierce growl, and Peter cawed ferociously in return.

"Peter use Gust!"

"Thunder Fang!"

Blast ran at Peter, his fangs crackling with electricity, but Peter kept him at bay with strong winds. After a few moments, Blast fought his way through the winds and launched at Peter. The Pidgeotto looped over the Arcanine's head and took to the air, and Blast's fangs closed on the empty air where Peter had been seconds earlier.

"Peter, Quick Attack!" Myles said.

"Blast, use Flame Burst!"

"Spin, Peter!"

Blast sent a huge burst of flames at Peter, but the Pidgeotto tucking in his wings and spun around the blast. He then opened his wings and flew at Blast with tremendous speed, hitting the Arcanine's flank hard with his sharp beak. He then flipped in the air and attack Blast from above, beating him his wings and talons.

"Blast! Flame Wheel!" Joan cried. The Arcaine spun forward, cloaked in flame, and managed to shake Peter off. The he stopped, spun around, and launched into another Flame Wheel, hitting Peter with tremendous force. Peter was blasted into the air.

"Alright, now use Flame Burst!" Joan said.

"Peter, doge!" Myles said.

Blast stopped his spinning and spat fire at Peter. The bird tried to dodge, but the flames hit him and exploded in a massive, firey shockwave. Peter fell to the ground. Myles withdrew the bird before he made contact with the dirt and scowled at Joan.

Blast once more stood triumphant, but his back and flanks were bleeding heavily from Peter's assault. Then, too exhausted to stand, the great Arcanine collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

"Looks like a tie." Joan said reluctantly. Myles smirked.

"Down to our last two. Go get 'em, Trixie!" Myles threw out his last Pokémon, a fierce Beedrill.

"You got this, Squirt!" Joan said, releasing her Wartortle.

"Trixie, use Pin Missile!"

"Water Gun!"

The two moves collided, evenly matched.

"Okay get in close, Trixie and use Poison Jab!"

"Withdraw!"

Trixie flew at Squirt, her huge stingers glowing a menacing purple. Just as Trixie lashed out, Squirt withdrew into his shell and shrugged off the damage.

"Quick! Come out and use Bite!" Joan ordered. The Wartortle sprang from his shell as Trixie was preparing another Poison Jab and locked his jaws around the Beedrill's leg.

"Now use Water Gun!" Joan said.

His mouth still clamped on Trixie, Squirt barraged her with powerful water bursts at close range.

"Use Poison Jab and get outs there!" Myles cried. Trixie jabbed at Squirt's face, grazing the edge of his head with her sharp pincer. Squirt recoiled in pain.

"Now use Twinneedle!" Myles said. The Beedrill aimed her pincers at Squirt and fired two deadly purple spikes at him, one hit his stomach and the other hit his arm.

The wounds created by Beedrill were sickly and puckered. Squirt already looked ready to faint.

"Squirt use Rapid Spin!"

The Wartortle launched himself in the air and tucked his head and limbs inside his shell, spinning rapidly. He hit Trixie straight in the abdomen and fell to the ground, popping out of his shell to land on his feet. Trixie nearly lost her balance in the air, but managed to recover at the last second.

Both Pokémon faced each other, exhausted. Trixie had been badly damages by Squirt's Water Gun and Rapid Spin, while Trixie's toxic wounds were taking their toll on Squirt. One more hit to either of them and it was curtains. Myles and Joan glared each other down, knowing that their next move would decide it all.

"Trixie, use Fury Attack!"

"Squirt, Tackle!"

The Wartortle sprinted at the Beedrill, glowing with energy. The Beedrill flew low to the ground at Squirt, her pincers glowing white. They collided. Each flew backwards and collapsed to the ground. It seemed a tie, but then Squirt managed to force himself to his feet, emitting a low cry as he did so.

"I concede, you win this round, Joan." Myles said.

"Yes! Squirt, you did great! You too, Blast." Joan smiled at her Pokémon and withdrew Squirt before taking out a Potion to attend to Blast's wounds.

"We should get him to a Pokémon Center, I'm sure they can treat him there." Myles said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Joan turned to Blast, "Are you up for a walk?"

The Arcanine wagged his tail and got to his feet. Together Joan, Myles, and Blast walked back to the Pokémon Center.

* * *

"Goodbye, Myles." Joan said giving him a hug. The Pokémon Center had fixed her Pokémon up, and now it was time to get back to the headquarters.

"Bye, Joan. And don't forget what I said. Stay in contact, okay? Just because you're off saving the world or whatever doesn't mean you can't give an old friend a call." Myles smiled. Joan nodded.

"I know. I'm sorry. I have to go." She said before mounting Blast. Myles looked as if he was about to say something more, but Joan spurred Blast on. The Arcanine surged forward, and soon Myles blended in with the horizon.

* * *

005 paced impatiently. An entire day had passed and Joan still hadn't returned.

 _Could my worst fears be true? Is Joan a spy? Is Blast?_ He rubbed his hand on the back of his next and looked back at Kadabra's sleeping form. The psychic bug still hadn't recovered fully, though Dew said that he would probably be well enough to get up tomorrow.

 _How could I doubt any of my team?_ 005 said. _But still…how could Team Rocket have_ possibly _known that we were at Mt. Chimney? We covered our tracks immaculately and there's no way that anyone saw us up there…the peak of Mt. Chimney has been completely abandoned since the whole incident with Team Magma about five years ago…_ 005 continued to fret and pace, his long tail swishing behind him with every turn.

"I'll just have to be more careful and keep a close eye out." He said, "And if drastic measures need to be taken…so be it. I will stop at nothing to prevent Giovanni from experimenting on Pokémon!"

"005!" Ember burst in, interrupting 005's thoughts.

"Yes, Ember?"

"Blast and Joan have returned!" He said. 005 let out a long sigh of relief and hurried out of the room to meet them.

"Where have you been?" 005 said as soon as Joan was in front of him.

"I needed to reassure Myles. And there's another matter I need to talk to you about regarding him." She responded.

The Charmeleon could guess her thoughts. And no, he would not let Myles join them…at least not until he discovered who the traitor was. He opened his mouth to tell her this, when suddenly Steel put a finger to his mouth, motioning for everyone to be quiet.

005 shut his mouth instantly. Steel rarely ordered anyone around, and when he did, it was because of something extremely important.

Then the Charmeleon heard it. The faint roaring of helicopter blades.

"Oh my Arceus…Team Rocket's found us. Everyone, get out of the base, we'll be trapped if we can't get out! I'll go back and get Kadabra." 005 ordered. The team nodded and headed for the exit that led to the warehouse; the only exit in the base.

The Charmeleon dashed through the pristine white halls on all fours towards the bedroom. He reached in in a matter of moments and knocked the door clear off of its hinges with the force of his running. This woke Kadabra, and the psychic sat up in his bed, looking rather pissed.

"What the hell's wrong!?" He yelled. 005 answered by yanking him out of the bed and thowing his arm under Kadabra's shoulder. The psychic thanked him by yanking his arm away and slapping 005 with the flat side of his blade.

"I can walk, dammit!"

"You'd better be able to run. Helicopters are coming. Team Rocket" 005 growled. Kadabra's eyes widened.

"What the hell are we standing around for? Shit!" He dashed towards the exit, 005 right behind him.

When they reached the exit hole, 005 turned to Kadabra.

"You'll have to fly yourself out and levitate me out, can you manage?"

"With this much adrenaline I could shift an entire frickin' mountain." Kadabra responded, flapping his wings and surrounding 005 in a blue psychic field. The two landed on the dirt in the inside of the warehouse and bolted for the exit.

They found the rest of the team standing in a line, staring up at the sky. A huge helicopter hovered above them, sending waves of wind and loud noise down at them. 005 and Kadabra joined the line, solemnly glaring at the helicopter. Emblazoned on the chopper's underbelly was a bright red 'R'.

"Damn." 005 muttered to himself. _This proves my theory. Someone is a traitor. But who? Who?_

"We will end you this time, mutts!" Said a booming voice from the helicopter. The bottom of the helicopter opened, and several Ultra Balls careened to the ground.

"Meet the most powerful mutants created this far! They're trained to kill. Say goodbye!" Said the voice.

005 watched the Ultra Balls fall, dread and adrenaline building in his gut.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **The next chapter will be out soon...hopefully. Things in this story are about to change...I'll give you that much of a hint.**

 **Thanks for faving, following, reading, reviewing, and whatever else! I would love some OC's, it's difficult coming up with fusions all by myself!**


	18. Chapter 15: Battle's End

**Chapter 15: Battle's End**

005 gritted dropped to all fours as the seven Ultra Balls hit the dirt. The seven Pokémon that burst forth were terrifying.

The first two were a Nidoqueen and a Nidoking. The Nidoqueen looked normal, though her usually bright blue shell was a darker tone, but instead of forearms she had two long, sharp blades that curved downwards, like a Kabutops. She let out a garbled cry, her pupils were miniscule and her eyes flitted around everywhere, unable to focus on one thing. The Nidoking had four, thick, muscular arms and three spines protruding from his head, similar to a Machamp's.

The next Pokémon to appear was a nearly unrecognizable Persian that was a bright blue with a grotesque muzzle opened wider that possible. Its eyes were sunken back in its skull and bright white with thin, vertical slits. Toxic purple poison dripped from her tail and stained her paws.

The next Pokémon was Argo's Arcanine, its menacing red gaze more eerie than ever.

The next two were a Goodra and a Magnezone. The Goodra was bright green with a purple flower around her shoulders, and the Magnezone had spikes protruding from its back and Metang arms rather than magnet ones.

"Go!" The voice from the helicopter ordered.

The seven Pokémon charged forward. In a flash of light Joan's Pokémon were revealed. 005 charged forward and engaged with the Nidoqueen. The Nidoqueen swung her arm down at 005, who dodged to the side just in time. The blade sunk into the ground. 005 seized the chance and punched the Nidoqueen in the gut with a powerful fire punch.

The Nidoqueen withdrew her blade with a screech and opened her mouth. A blue sphere of water grew in her mouth and she launched it at 005. The sphere made contact.

005 writhed as the water soaked into his fiery skin. The Nidoqueen once more swung her blade at 005. He tried to move, but he wasn't fast enough to prevent the blade from slicing his cheek.

 _If those things made direct contact I'm done for!_

005 got back on his feet as the Nidoqueen ran forward, swinging her blades down again and again. He dodged to the left and the right while walking backwards, the blades barely missing him every time. Finally he felt his back touch another's and he realized he couldn't run anymore. Clenching his jaw he pushed the Nidoqueen's blades away from him.

 _005! Is that you I'm touching?_ Kadabra's voice echoed in his head.

 _I'm…a little…busy!_ 005 thought, projecting an image of what he was seeing at the psychic.

 _When I say the word, push her back and change places with me. I think we should trade opponents._ Kadabra said.

005 nodded and redoubled his efforts. He planted his feet and prepared to shove with everything he had.

 _Ready? Now!_

In perfect sync, 005 pushed the Nidoqueen back and rotated his body just in time to see the four-armed Nidoking be released from Kadabra's psychic field. Kadabra's touch disappeared in a whir of clanking blades.

The Nidoking growled. His arms flew, jabbing towards 005 with incredible speed. 005 danced around them.

 _This is a much better fight for me!_ He thought. He leaped back from the Nidoking and breathed a stream of fire at the Nidoking, scorching it. The Nidoking reared back, wincing in pain.

005 somersaulted over him, flipped, and landed on his back. The Nidoking spun, trying to get him off, but 005 dug into his back with his claws. Beads of blood dripped from the marks he made. The Nidoking flailed more, but 005 held on. He pulled his head back and fire spun in his mouth, and he chomped down on the back of Nidoking's neck.

The Nidoking bucked more, and eventually had the knowledge to fall to the ground and roll on top of 005. The Charmeleon gasped in pain and let go. The Nidoking got on his feet in an instant and loomed over the Charmeleon. 005 braced himself. The creature's fists flew, beating 005 into the ground and punching every inch of his body without relent.

 _I can't take much more!_ 005 gasped. He tried to punch back, his fists glowing with Brick Break, but two of the Nidoking's arms grabbed his while the other two continued their assault.

Then a huge flash of orange and black fur streaked into the Nidoking, knocking him away from 005.

It was Blast.

* * *

Dew dodged another Dragon Pulse and flipped in the air, turning to face the Goodra. She whipped out her scalchops and charged them with energy. Long blue blades of energy lengthened from the shells, and Dew gripped them tightly. She did a backflip for momentum and flew at the Goodra, letting out a fierce battle cry.

The Goodra could dodge in time. Dew flew by him, slicing her with one scalchops as she did so. Then she turned and sliced him across the other side. The Goodra cried out in pain.

She then turned, the flower around her neck glowing as it absorbed energy. After a few moments she opened her mouth and fired a high-power Solarbeam straight at Dew. The energy engulfed Dew and sent her flying into the air. Dew recovered soon and climbed in the sky flying high above the Goodra. The she stored her scalchops in their pouches and dived down. She gained speed and energy until she was covered in light blue light. She slammed into the Goodra's stomach with a powerful Aerial Ace.

The Goodra stumbled back. Dew spiraled into the air, a victorious grin on her face. The mutt glared back at her with amber eyes. Then she spun around and leaped into the air, water swirling around her tail as she backflipped and smacked Dew across the face.

The Goodra landed, spun, and jumped at Dew again, slamming her down with pure force. Dew landed hard on her wing and heard a sickening pop. The Goodra opened her mouth blue light emanating from it as she prepared a Dragon Pulse.

Dew rolled to the side, ignoring the fire in her wing, just as the Goodra fired. She unsteadily rose at her feet and pulled out her scalchops, lengthening them into gleaming blue energy swords. The Goodra fired another Dragon Pules, but Dew blocked the blast with her scalchops. She ran at him, slicing him across the chest. The slice made a clean cut across her rib cage that began to bleed almost immediately. The Goodra growled and whipped around, swinging her tail at Dew with a powerful Dragon Tail.

Dew blocked the tail with her scalchops and shoved the Goodra back. The mutant glared at her and fired another Dragon Pulse at Dew. Dew was blasted back before she could block the Pulse with her scalchops. She lost her grip on her shells of energy and they went flying out her hand, becoming normal shells once more the instant they left the touch of her paws.

"You won't win!" The Goodra sneered. "I have been bred for long distance fights, and without your scalchops you have nothing!"

"You…you're speaking human speech!" Dew gasped.

"Yes, that's right. You honestly believe that they didn't figure out how to give the mutts human speech? They figured it out long ago! A simple adjustment in the DNA is all it takes to give us human-speak. But they only give it to the most powerful mutants." The Goodra smirked, "I am at the top of the pack. Even of us seven, I am the only one with human-speak. The tried to give it to the Nidoqueen and Nidoking…but…well…the Nidoqueen isn't sane, and it didn't take with the Nidoking. The Persian isn't capable of speaking, neither is the Arcanine. And the Magnezone is telepathic. I am the leader. Fear me!"

"I fear nobody. Because _I'm_ the true leader of this pack. Do you honestly think that I'm useless without those shells, bitch?" Dew growled.

 _I haven't used this move before…but I can. I_ believe _in myself! I am strong!_ Dew thought.

The Goodra looked taken aback by the sudden ferocity in Dew's crimson gaze. The Dewott dashed forward, her fists and wings glowing with bright orange energy. She collided with the Goodra and beat every bit of the slimy dragon's body with her fists and wings with no attempt at defense. After hitting the Goodra several times, she reared her arm back.

"Goodnight, _leader."_ She hissed before smacking the Goodra hard enough in the face to send her flying into the ground, completely unconscious.

"Right." Dew said, walking over to her shells and ignoring her throbbing wing. She surveyed the battlefield, looking at all the desperate fights.

"Who's next?"

* * *

Ember gulped as the surge of hybrid Pokémon ran towards them. He gulped and closed his eyes.

 _Okay, Phoenix, I know that you're in there. You're the defender. So, defend us._ Ember thought. He felt a faint burning sensation in his throat, and suddenly he had no control over his limbs.

 _Gladly, wimp. You can't even tell her—_

 _Shut up and fight!_ Ember thought, blocking Phoenix's though from his mind.

Phoenix smirked and swished his tail back and forth.

"Which of these stupid mutts should I take on?" The Luxray smirked, his fiery red eyes glinting in excitement. He surveyed the scene. Joan's Pokémon and Blast were fighting the weird Magnezone, so he was covered. Kadabra appeared to have the four-armed mutt, while 005 punched the Nidoqueen in the gut. Dew and the Goodra were exchanging blasts, and Steel was dueling with Argo's ghostly Arcanine.

That left the toxic Persian, which was staring at Phoenix with its eerie white gaze.

"Fight me, freak!" Phoenix challenged, lowering his body and preparing to pounce. The Persian gave out a warped meow and dashed forward.

Phoenix prepared himself for the attack, but the Persian leapt over his head, landed behind him, and spat a high-powered stream of water at his back; a powerful Hydro Pump.

Phoenix's body writhed in agony. Ember and Phoenix combined consciousness prepared a powerful blast. The Luxray's mouth opened and Phoenix shot a stream of fire at the toxic cat while Ember swirled electricity around the flames. The blast connected and exploded in a blast of flames and electricity.

 _Success!_ Ember said. Phoenix felt a surge of irritation at his weaker self.

 _All_ you _do is form the electricity. I aim and provide the fire._ Phoenix could feel a though bubbling in Ember's side of their shared consciousness, but before the thought was fully formed a wave of spiraling water slammed into the Luxray's side.

Phoenix growled and turned back to the freak Persian, shooting her a deathly glare.

"You've messed up my fur, you faceless freakish kitten. I will destroy you!" Phoenix snarled and released a beam of fire and electricity at the Persian. The cat fire orbs of purple poison at the beam, and for a moment the two collided, but the fire and electricity soon overwhelmed the Sludge Bomb and struck the Persian directly in the chest.

The toxic cat instantly recovered and fired another Hydro Pump at Phoenix. The Luxray jumped to the side and ran at the Persian with his fangs crackling. He grabbed the Persian around its throat.

The skin was not fur, but slippery with tiny scales, like a fish. Phoenix plunged his fangs into the fishy flesh and allowed Ember to produce a surge of electricity. The powerful energy surged straight into the Persian, who involuntarily jerked and flailed as the lightning travelled along its body. Phoenix switched to Fire Fang and scorched the Persian's neck before arching his powerful neck and slammed the Persian into the ground. He slammed the Persian into the ground again and again, his fangs deep in her neck and salty blood filling his mouth.

 _Phoenix, I think that it's unconscious. Let go._ Said Ember.

 _I'm the one in control, you wimp! This hideous little shit doesn't deserve to live!_

 _What!? No! Stop! We aren't killers like Team Rocket!_

 _I am, you stupid bastard!_

Phoenix stopped slamming the Persian's limp body.

"Goodnight, you little shit." Ember hissed around the mouthful of fish scales. He crunched down.

The red blood was nearly indistinguishable from his fur.

* * *

005 and Blast looked at each other and nodded. The both faced the four-armed Nidoking. 005 breathed a long flamethrower at the opposing mutant while Blast fired a shorter burst of flame that exploded on impact; both fire moves made solid contact. The Nidoking came at them, covered in burns and looking far more pissed than before.

His fists glowed blue and he punched Blast across the jaw. The Arcanine went reeling back.

"Mistake, bastard!" 005 hissed. He leaped into the air and spun to gain momentum, socking the Nidoking across the jaw with a powerful Mach Punch.

Blast leaped forward and grabbed the Nidoking's arm in his teeth. A surge of electricity seized through him.

The Nidoking inhaled sharply then collapsed. Electricity travelled across his bright purple skin. He didn't rise.

 **"We…did it."** Blast panted.

"Yes. Thank you, Blast. You saved me…augh!" 005 winced in pain and fell to one knee. His entire body felt sore and bruised, and the Charmeleon was sure a few of his ribs were broken. He forced himself up and surveyed the battlefield.

Joan's Pokémon had knocked the Magnezone back. Dew was brushing off her hands over the crumpled body of the Goodra. Steel had just knocked down the Arcanine, which laid still on the ground. The Nidoqueen was twitching on the ground, bleeding from a severe slice across her stomach. The Nidoking was down for the count

That left…the Persian. 005 looked around the field, then finally caught sight of the sickening sight of Phoenix standing over the mangled body of the Persian. The creature's throat was completely ripped through, and the Luxray held the flesh of the jugular in his mouth, his red eyes gleaming demonically. Before 005's very eyes, Phoenix tossed the flesh into the air, and caught it once again in his mouth. He swallow the flesh whole and proceeded to bite into the Persian once more.

"Phoenix!" 005 growled, running towards the Luxray on all fours and ignoring the screaming pain in his limbs and torso. The Luxray glared at him and ripped out another piece of flesh. Before he could swallow it, 005 crashed into him.

Blast appeared behind him, growling at the Luxray. **"How could you! How could you? You worthless bastard! Bring Ember back!"** The Arcanine barked.

"It didn't deserve to live." Smirked Phoenix, his fiery tail swishing back and forth. "Besides. I haven't had fresh meat in a while. It tastes delicious…it has the texture of land animals with the flavor of fish."

The Luxray licked his lips and started towards the cadaver once more, but Blast stepped between the lion and the mangled corpse.

 **"No."** The Arcanine hissed. 005 tried to step up next to the Arcanine, but his back legs buckled and he was forced to watch the enmity build between the tiger dog and the lion.

"Move, foolish dog." Phoenix spat.

 **"I won't let you eat this Pokémon. It deserved our compassion and kindness, not brutal death and the teeth of a vain snob like you. Now bring back Ember!"** Blast growled. Phoenix began to stalk forward.

Suddenly the Luxray stopped. A stormy look spread over his face. He shook his head desperately, then shook his entire body, like he was trying to remove water from his red and black coat. The he stopped and looked up, his yellow eyes filled with sickened horror.

"What have I…"

"Everyone! They're getting away!" Joan yelled from in front of the warehouse.

 **"Let's go!"** Blast cried. 005 forced himself up, and he, Ember, and 005 ran over to Joan. All the mutants joined the line as they watched the helicopter start to fly away, abandoning the mutants they had sent to destroy the ragtag team.

"Don't let them escape!" 005 yelled, firing a stream of flames that just grazed the Helicopter.

"Pony use Ember! Kiddo, Razor Leaf, and Squirt use Water Gun!" Joan ordered. Her Pokémon fired their moves at the chopper, and they scored direct hits. The moves blew a hole in the choppers side, and it careened wildly in the air, finally tipping towards the line of Pokémon, smoke streaming from its side. The Team Rocket goons within leapt out, tumbled to the ground, then rose and ran away.

"Everyone dodge!" Dew cried. 005 nodded as everyone jumped out of the way of the deadly projectile falling towards them at top speed.

He tried to jump. His body failed. His eyes winded in shock as he stared up at his doom. For a brief flash fear filled him, but then he shut his eyes and smirked.

 _Interesting death. Crush by a falling helicopter. Heh._ He prepared himself for impact, and felt a sharp push from his side.

005 spun end over end and finally hit a tree. His brains felt like they were bouncing around in his head and his vision was blurry, but what he did see was Blast standing in his place.

The Arcanine smiled faintly, and the helicopter fell with a tremendous explosion.

A pain-filled howl echoed in the trees.

 _No…no no no no **NO!**_

005 forced his body to obey and rise. He ran over to the helicopter and shoved against the three-ton burden. It seemed futile, but the other mutants and Joan and her Pokémon shoved with him, and they managed to roll the helicopter off of the Arcanine.

He was completely, utterly, totally unrecognizable. His entire right side was indented, his legs crushed and his entire ribcage split in two, bright white bits of bone reaching into the air. His skull was indented and bits of brain matter and bone spread all around his skull area. His eyes had been squeezed out of his sockets and were flat balls of goo still attached to the rest of his flesh by veins. Blood soaked his entire coat, not a shred of cream, orange, or black visible.

Joan made a gasping shriek and turned away, but 005 stood still, transfixed by the sight of the mindless gore.

 _It…it should've been me! I should be there…_

Then 005's legs buckled once more, and his vision faded. The image of Blast still seared his retinas.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Sorry to do this to you all.**

 **Originally this chapter was going to be twice the length, but I felt it best to end it here to give Blast the swan song he deserves.**

 **Thanks for reading, please forgive me!**


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